Lens driving device, and camera module and optical device comprising same

ABSTRACT

An embodiment comprises: a housing comprising a plurality of protrusions arranged on the upper surface thereof; a magnet arranged on a side portion of the housing; a bobbin having a first coil arranged on the outer peripheral surface thereof, the bobbin being configured to move by means of an interaction between the magnet and the first coil; an upper elastic member coupled to the bobbin and to the housing; and a sensing coil arranged on the side portion of the housing between the protrusions and the magnet, the sensing coil being configured to generate an induction voltage by means of an interaction with the first coil, wherein at least a part of the upper elastic member is arranged on the upper surface of the housing between the protrusions.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. Application No. 17/159,604,filed Jan. 27, 2021, which is a continuation of U.S. Application No.16/081,264, filed Aug. 30, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,935,751, issuedMar. 2, 2021; which is the U.S. national stage application ofInternational Pat. Application No. PCT/KR2017/002492, filed Mar. 8,2017, which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119 of KoreanApplication Nos. 10-2016-0027591, filed Mar. 8, 2016, and10-2016-0048828, filed Apr. 21, 2016, the disclosures of each of whichare incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments relate to a lens driving device and to a camera module andan optical apparatus including the same.

BACKGROUND ART

It is difficult to apply the technology of a voice coil motor (VCM) usedin a conventional camera module to an ultra-small camera module whilestill realizing low power consumption thereof, and thus research hasbeen actively conducted in relation thereto.

There is increasing demand for, and production of, electronic productssuch as smart phones and cellular phones equipped with cameras. Camerasfor cellular phones have been increasing in resolution andminiaturization, and accordingly, an actuator is also becoming smaller,larger in diameter, and more multi-functional. In order to realize ahigh-resolution cellular phone camera, additional functions, such asimprovement in the performance of the cellular phone camera,autofocusing, shutter shaking prevention, and zooming in and out, arerequired.

DISCLOSURE Technical Problem

Embodiments provide a lens driving device, which is capable of securinga sufficient distance between a sensing coil and a first coil andovercoming a spatial limitation pertaining to installation of an upperelastic member in a housing, and a camera module and an opticalapparatus including the same.

Technical Solution

In one embodiment, a lens driving device includes: a housing including aplurality of protruding portions provided on an upper surface thereof; amagnet disposed on a side portion of the housing; a bobbin including afirst coil disposed on an outer circumferential surface thereof andconfigured to be moved by interaction between the magnet and the firstcoil; an upper elastic member coupled to the bobbin and the housing; anda sensing coil disposed on the side portion of the housing between theprotruding portions and the magnet and configured to generate aninductive voltage by interaction with the first coil, wherein at least aportion of the upper elastic member is disposed on the upper surface ofthe housing between the protruding portions.

The side portion of the housing may include: first side portions onwhich the magnet is disposed; and second side portions, eachinterconnecting two adjacent first side portions among the first sideportions, and the sensing coil may be disposed on an outer surface ofthe first and second side portions so as to be wound in a clockwise orcounterclockwise direction about an optical axis.

The plurality of protruding portions may include a first protrudingportion provided on an upper surface of at least one of the first sideportions; and a second protruding portion provided on an upper surfaceof at least one of the second side portions, and at least a portion ofthe upper elastic member may be disposed on the upper surface of thehousing between the first protruding portion and the second protrudingportion.

The upper elastic member may include: an inner frame coupled to thebobbin; an outer frame coupled to the upper surface of the housing; anda frame connection portion interconnecting the inner frame and the outerframe, and a portion of the outer frame may be disposed on the uppersurface of the housing between the first protruding portion and thesecond protruding portion.

A connection portion of the outer frame and the frame connection portionmay be disposed on the upper surface of the housing between the firstprotruding portion and the second protruding portion.

The outer surface of the first and second side portions of the housingmay be formed with a seating groove, and the sensing coil may bedisposed in the seating groove.

The sensing coil may be disposed on an upper end of an outer surface ofthe side portion of the housing so as to be spaced apart from the upperelastic member disposed on the upper surface of the housing.

The plurality of protruding portions may be disposed in a first area ofthe upper surface of the housing, at least a portion of the upperelastic member may be disposed in a second area of the upper surface ofthe housing that is located between the plurality of protrudingportions, and the second area of the upper surface of the housing may beopen to the outer surface of the side portion of the housing.

The sensing coil disposed on the housing may overlap the plurality ofprotruding portions in the optical-axis direction.

The first protruding portion may be disposed so as to be aligned withthe center of the upper surface of at least one of the first sideportions, and the second protruding portion may be disposed so as to bealigned with the center of the upper surface of at least one of thesecond side portions.

The first protruding portion may have a linear shape, and the secondprotruding portion may have a bent shape.

The lens driving device may further include a support member connectedto the outer frame of the upper elastic member, and the support membermay be located inside the sensing coil.

In another embodiment, a lens driving device includes: a housing; amagnet disposed on the housing; a bobbin including a first coil disposedon an outer circumferential surface thereof; an upper elastic membercoupled to the bobbin and the housing; and a sensing coil disposed on aside portion of the housing and configured to generate an inductivevoltage by interaction with the first coil, wherein the housing includesat least one recess provided in an upper surface thereof, at least aportion of the upper elastic member is disposed in the at least onerecess in the housing, and at least a portion of the upper elasticmember disposed in the at least one recess is open from the uppersurface of the housing.

The at least one recess may be open to an outer surface of the sideportion of the housing, and the at least a portion of the upper elasticmember disposed in the at least one recess may be exposed from the outersurface of the side portion of the housing.

The upper elastic member may include: an inner frame coupled to thebobbin; an outer frame coupled to the upper surface of the housing; anda frame connection portion interconnecting the inner frame and the outerframe, and at least a portion of the outer frame may be disposed in theat least one recess.

The sensing coil may be disposed so as to be spaced apart from the upperelastic member that is disposed in the recess.

The at least one recess may be provided in the side portion of thehousing on which the magnet is disposed.

The at least one recess may be disposed adjacent to at least one side ofthe upper surface of the housing.

The at least one recess may include a bottom and a side surface, thesensing coil may be disposed under the bottom of the at least onerecess, and at least a portion of the upper elastic member may bedisposed in contact with the bottom of the at least one recess.

At least a portion of the outer frame disposed in the at least onerecess may overlap the sensing coil in the optical-axis direction.

The depth of the bottom of the at least one recess may be equal to orgreater than the height of at least a portion of the upper elasticmember disposed on the bottom of the recess.

An upper support protrusion coupled to at least a portion of the upperelastic member may be provided on the bottom of the at least one recess.

In another embodiment, a lens driving device includes a housingincluding a plurality of side portions; a magnet disposed on theplurality of side portions of the housing; a bobbin including a firstcoil disposed on an outer circumferential surface thereof and configuredto be moved via interaction between the magnet and the first coil; anupper elastic member coupled to the bobbin and the housing; a sensingcoil disposed on the side portions of the housing and configured togenerate an inductive voltage via interaction with the first coil; and asecond coil disposed so as to face the magnet and configured to move thehousing via interaction with the magnet, wherein an upper surface of theplurality of side portions of the housing includes a first area and asecond area, at least a portion of the upper elastic member is disposedon the second area, the first area is configured to protrude from thesecond area, and the second area is recessed from the first area.

The second area may be open to each of an outer surface and an innersurface of the side portions of the housing.

In another embodiment, a lens driving device includes a housing; abobbin located inside the housing; a first drive unit located in thebobbin; a second drive unit located in the housing so as to face thefirst drive unit; and a first support member coupled to the housing andthe bobbin, wherein the first support member includes an outer framecoupled to the housing; an inner frame coupled to the bobbin; and aframe connection portion interconnecting the outer frame and the innerframe, wherein the outer frame includes a first outer portion and asecond outer portion spaced apart from each other, wherein the firstouter portion is connected to the inner frame via the frame connectionportion, and wherein the second outer portion is spaced apart from theinner frame and the frame connection portion.

The outer frame may further include: a third outer portion spaced apartfrom the first outer portion and the second outer portion; and a fourthouter portion spaced apart from the first outer portion, the secondouter portion, and the third outer portion, the frame connection portionmay include first to fourth connection portions that are spaced apartfrom each other, the inner frame may include a first inner portion and asecond inner portion that are spaced apart from each other, the firstouter portion may be connected to the first inner portion through thefirst connection portion and the second connection portion, the thirdouter portion may be connected to the second inner portion through thethird connection portion and the fourth connection portion, and thefourth outer portion may be spaced apart from the frame connectionportion and the inner frame.

The first drive unit may include a first coil unit, the lens drivingdevice may further include a second coil unit located on the housing,two outer portions among the first to fourth outer portions may beelectrically connected to the second coil unit, and the other two outerportions may be electrically connected to the first coil unit.

The lens driving device may further include a current applying unitconfigured to apply current to the first coil unit; and a sensing unitconfigured to sense at least one of a voltage or current induced in thesecond coil unit.

The first support member may be coupled to an upper portion of thehousing and an upper portion of the bobbin, the lens driving device mayfurther include a second support member coupled to a lower portion ofthe housing and a lower portion of the bobbin, and the second supportmember may be integrally formed.

The lens driving device may further include: a third drive unit facingthe second drive unit; a substrate located under the housing, the thirddrive unit being located on the substrate; and a third support membercoupled to the first support member and the substrate.

The lens driving device may include a first support portion coupled tothe first outer portion, a second support portion coupled to the secondouter portion, a third support portion coupled to the third outerportion, and a fourth support portion coupled to the fourth outerportion, and the first to fourth support portions may be spaced apartfrom each other.

The housing may include a first side surface portion and a second sidesurface portion adjacent to the first side surface portion, the bobbinmay include a first side portion facing the first side surface portionand a second side portion facing the second side surface portion, thefirst outer portion may include a first outer coupling portion coupledto the first side surface portion and a second outer coupling portioncoupled to the second side surface portion, the inner frame may includea first inner coupling portion coupled to the first side portion and asecond inner coupling portion coupled to the second side portion, andthe frame connection portion may include a first connection portiondirectly interconnecting the first outer coupling portion and the secondinner coupling portion.

The housing may further include a third side surface portion adjacent tothe second side surface portion, the bobbin may further include a thirdside portion facing the third side surface portion, the first outerportion may further include a third outer coupling portion coupled tothe third side surface portion, the inner frame may further include athird inner coupling portion coupled to the third side portion, and theframe connection portion may further include a second connection portiondirectly interconnecting the second outer coupling portion and the thirdinner coupling portion.

The inner frame may further include a dummy portion interconnecting thefirst inner coupling portion and the second inner coupling portion.

The second outer portion and the fourth outer portion may not be coupledto the bobbin, but may be coupled only to the housing.

The second coil unit may be located between the housing and the firstsupport member.

In another embodiment, a lens driving device includes: a housing; abobbin located inside the housing; a first drive unit located in thebobbin; a second drive unit located in the housing so as to face thefirst drive unit; and a support member coupled to the housing and thebobbin, wherein the support member includes a first support unit and asecond support unit spaced apart from the first support unit, the firstsupport unit is coupled to the housing and the bobbin, and the secondsupport unit is spaced apart from the bobbin and is coupled only to thehousing.

In another embodiment, a camera module includes: a lens barrel; the lensdriving device according to the embodiment configured to move the lensbarrel; and an image sensor configured to convert an image introducedthrough the lens driving device into an electric signal.

In a further embodiment, an optical apparatus includes: a display moduleincluding a plurality of pixels, a color of which changes by an electricsignal; the camera module according to the embodiment configured toconvert an image introduced through a lens into an electric signal; anda controller configured to control the operation of the display moduleand the camera module.

Advantageous Effects

Embodiments may secure a sufficient distance between a sensing coil anda first coil and may overcome a spatial limitation pertaining toinstallation of an upper elastic member in a housing.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an exploded perspective view of a lens driving deviceaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates an assembled perspective view illustrating the lensdriving device excluding a cover member of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of a bobbin illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 illustrates a first exploded perspective view of a housing and amagnet illustrated in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 5 illustrates a second exploded perspective view of the housing andthe magnet illustrated in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 6 illustrates an assembled perspective view illustrating an upperelastic member, a lower elastic member, a base, a second coil, a supportmember, and a circuit board illustrated in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 7 illustrates an exploded perspective view of the second coil, thecircuit board, and the base illustrated in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 8 illustrates a side perspective view of the lens driving deviceillustrated in FIG. 2 .

FIG. 9 illustrates a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I′ of thelens driving device illustrated in FIG. 2 .

FIG. 10 illustrates a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II′ ofthe lens driving device illustrated in FIG. 2 .

FIG. 11 is a top view illustrating the arrangement of a sensing coilillustrated in FIG. 8 .

FIG. 12 illustrates a top view of the portion indicated by the dottedline of FIG. 8 .

FIG. 13 illustrates a side perspective view of the portion indicated bythe dotted line of FIG. 8 .

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a lens driving device according toanother embodiment.

FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view of the lens driving deviceillustrated in FIG. 14 .

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the lens driving device of FIG. 14excluding a cover member.

FIG. 17 is a plan view of FIG. 16 .

FIG. 18 is a perspective view illustrating a portion of the lens drivingdevice of FIG. 16 .

FIG. 19 is a perspective view illustrating another portion of the lensdriving device of FIG. 16 .

FIG. 20 is a plan view illustrating an upper elastic member of FIG. 17 .

FIG. 21 illustrates an exploded perspective view of a camera moduleaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 22 illustrates a perspective view of a portable terminal accordingto an embodiment.

FIG. 23 illustrates the configuration of the portable terminalillustrated in FIG. 22 .

MODE FOR INVENTION

Hereinafter, embodiments will become apparent with reference to theattached drawings and a description related thereto. In the descriptionof the embodiments, it will be understood that when an element, such asa layer (film), a region, a pattern or a structure, is referred to asbeing “on” or “under” another element, such as a substrate, a layer(film), a region, a pad or a pattern, the term “on” or “under” meansthat the element is “directly” on or under another element or is“indirectly” formed such that an intervening element may also bepresent. In addition, it will also be understood that the criteria of“on” or “under” is on the basis of the drawings. In addition, the samereference numerals will denote the same elements via the description ofthe drawings.

Hereinafter, a lens driving device according to the embodiments will bedescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings. For convenienceof description, the lens driving device according to the embodimentswill be described using a Cartesian coordinate system (x, y, z), but maybe described using any other coordinate system, and the embodiments arenot limited as to the coordinate system. In the drawings, an x axis anda y axis are directions orthogonal to a z axis, which is an optical-axisdirection. The z-axis direction, which is the optical-axis direction,may be referred to as a “first direction”, the x-axis direction may bereferred to as a “second direction”, and the y-axis direction may bereferred to as a “third direction”.

A “hand-tremor compensation device” used in a small-sized camera modulemounted in a mobile device, such as a smartphone or a tablet PC, is adevice configured to inhibit the outline of a captured image from beingblurred due to vibration caused by the shaking of a user’s hand when theimage is captured.

In addition, an “auto-focusing device” is a device for automaticallyfocusing an image of a subject on the surface of an image sensor.

An “autofocus function” is defined as a function of focusing a subjecton the image sensor by moving a lens module in the optical-axisdirection according to the distance to the subject so as to adjust thedistance to the image sensor in order to enable acquisition of a clearimage of the subject. The term “autofocus” may be mixed with “AF(AutoFocus)”.

A “hand-tremor compensation function” mentioned below is defined as afunction of moving or tilting the lens module in a direction orthogonalto the optical-axis direction so as to cancel shaking (movement)generated in the image sensor by external force. The term “hand-tremorcompensation” may be interchanged with “optical image stabilization(OIS)”.

The hand-tremor compensation device and the auto-focusing device may beconfigured in various manners. A lens driving device according to theembodiments may perform a hand-tremor compensation operation and/or anauto-focusing operation by moving an optical module constituted by atleast one lens in the first direction or moving the optical modulerelative to a plane defined by the second and third directions, whichare orthogonal to the first direction.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the lens driving device 100illustrated in FIG. 1 , and FIG. 2 is an assembled perspective view ofthe lens driving device excluding a cover member 300 of FIG. 1 .

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 , the lens driving device 100 includes abobbin 110, a first coil 120, a magnet 130, a housing 140, an upperelastic member 150, a lower elastic member 160, and a sensing coil 170.

In addition, the lens driving device 100 may further include a supportmember 220, a second coil 230, an optical image stabilization (OIS)position sensor 240, and a circuit board 250.

In addition, the lens driving device 100 may further include a base 210and the cover member 300.

First, the cover member 300 will be described.

The cover member 300 accommodates the bobbin 110, the first coil 120,the magnet 130, the housing 140, the upper elastic member 150, the lowerelastic member 160, the sensing coil 170, the support member 220, thesecond coil 230, the OIS position sensor 240, and the circuit board 250in an accommodating space defined between the cover member and the base210.

The cover member 300 may take the form of a box having an open bottomand an upper end portion and sidewalls, and the bottom of the covermember 300 may be coupled to the top of the base 210. The upper endportion of the cover member 300 may have a polygonal shape, for example,a rectangular shape, an octagonal shape, or the like.

The cover member 300 may have a hollow region formed in the upper endportion thereof to expose a lens (not illustrated) coupled to the bobbin110 to external light. In addition, the hollow region in the covermember 300 may be additionally provided with a window formed of alight-transmitting material in order to inhibit foreign substances, suchas dust or moisture, from entering the inside of a camera module.

The cover member 300 may be formed of a nonmagnetic material such as SUSin order to inhibit the cover member from adhering to the magnet 130,but may be formed of a magnetic material to serve as a yoke.

Next, the bobbin 110 will be described.

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of the bobbin 110 illustrated inFIG. 1

Referring to FIG. 3 , the bobbin 110 is located inside the housing 140and is movable in the first direction via electromagnetic interactionbetween the coil 120 and the magnet 130.

The bobbin 110 may include a lens barrel (not illustrated) in which atleast one lens is provided, although not illustrated, and the lensbarrel may be coupled inside the bobbin 110 in any of various manners.

The bobbin 110 may have a hollow region for mounting the lens or thelens barrel. The hollow region of the bobbin 110 may have the same shapeas the lens or lens barrel to be mounted therein, and may have, forexample, a circular shape, an elliptical shape, or a polygonal shape,without limitation thereto.

The bobbin 110 may include at least one upper support protrusion 113,which is disposed on the upper surface and is coupled to and fixed to aninner frame 151 of the upper elastic member 150, and at least one lowersupport protrusion (not illustrated), which is disposed on the lowersurface and is coupled to and fixed to an inner frame 161 of the lowerelastic member 160.

The bobbin 110 may have an upper avoidance groove 112 formed in a regionof the upper surface thereof corresponding to or aligned with a frameconnection portion 153 of the upper elastic member 150. In addition, thebobbin 110 may have a lower avoidance groove (not illustrated) formed ina region of the lower surface thereof corresponding to or aligned with aconnection portion 163 of the lower elastic member 160. In anotherembodiment, the connection portion of the upper elastic member and thebobbin are designed not to interfere with each other, in which case theupper avoidance groove and/or the lower avoidance groove of the bobbinmay not be provided.

The bobbin 110 may have at least one groove (not illustrated) formed inthe outer circumferential surface thereof, in which the first coil 120is disposed. The first coil 120 may be placed or seated in the groove.Alternatively, the first coil 120 may be directly wound in the groove soas to rotate in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction about theoptical axis OA. The shape and number of grooves may correspond to theshape and number of coils disposed on the outer circumferential surfaceof the bobbin 110. In another embodiment, the bobbin 110 may not have acoil seating groove, and the first coil 120 may be directly wound aroundthe outer circumferential surface of the bobbin 110, or may be wound andfixed.

Next, the first coil 120 will be described.

The first coil 120 may be a driving coil disposed on the outercircumferential surface of the bobbin 110 to electromagneticallyinteract with the magnet 130 disposed on the housing 140. A drivingsignal (e.g., driving current) may be applied to the first coil 120 inorder to generate an electromagnetic force due to the interactionbetween the first coil 120 and the magnet 130.

According to Fleming’s left-hand rule, an autofocus (AF) movable unitmay be moved in the first direction by the electromagnetic force due tothe interaction between the first coil 120 and the magnet 130. Themovement of the AF movable unit in the first direction may be controlledby controlling the driving signal applied to the first coil 120 so as toadjust the intensity and/or the direction of the electromagnetic force.Thereby, an auto-focusing function may be performed.

The AF movable unit may include the bobbin 110 elastically supported bythe upper and lower elastic members 150 and 160 and constituent elementsmounted in the bobbin 110 so as to be moved together with the bobbin110. For example, the AF movable unit may include the bobbin 110, thefirst coil 120, and the lens (not illustrated) mounted in the bobbin110.

The first coil 120 may be wound around the outer circumferential surfaceof the bobbin 110 so as to rotate in a clockwise or counterclockwisedirection about the optical axis OA. In another embodiment, the firstcoil 120 may be implemented in the form of a coil ring that is wound ina clockwise or counterclockwise direction about an axis orthogonal tothe optical axis OA, and the number of coil rings may be the same as thenumber of magnets 130, without limitation thereto.

The first coil 120 may be electrically connected to at least one of theupper elastic member 150 or the lower elastic member 160 in order toreceive the driving signal.

Next, the housing 140 will be described.

The housing 140 may support the magnet 130 and the sensing coil 170, andmay accommodate the bobbin 110 therein so as to allow the bobbin 110 tobe moved in the first direction by the electromagnetic force due to theinteraction between the first coil 120 and the magnet 130.

FIG. 4 illustrates a first exploded perspective view of the housing 140and the magnet 130 illustrated in FIG. 1 , and FIG. 5 illustrates asecond exploded perspective view of the housing 140 and the magnet 130illustrated in FIG. 1 .

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5 , the housing 140 may include a plurality ofside portions 141 and 142, which may have a hollow column shape overallto form a hollow region therein. For example, the housing 140 mayinclude the plurality of side portions 141 and 142 each forming apolygonal (e.g., rectangular or octagonal) or circular hollow regiontherein.

The housing 140 may include an upper surface 401 and a side portion. Theside portion of the housing 140 may include the plurality of sideportions 141 and 142 and the upper surfaces of the side portions maydefine the upper surface 401 of the housing 140.

For example, the housing 140 may include first side portions 141, whichare spaced apart from each other, and second side portions 142, whichare spaced apart from each other.

For example, the length of each of the first side portions 141 of thehousing 140 may be greater than the length of each of the second sideportions 142. For example, the first side portions 141 of the housing140 may correspond to the sides of the housing 140, and the second sideportions 142 of the housing 140 may correspond to the corners of thehousing 140.

The magnet 130 may be disposed or installed on the first side portions141 of the housing 140.

Each of the second side portions 142 of the housing 140 may be locatedbetween two adjacent first side portions and may connect the first sideportions 141 to each other.

A support member 220 may be disposed on the second side portions 142 ofthe housing 140.

For example, the support member 220 may pass through through-holes 147provided respectively in the second side portions 142, and may becoupled to an outer frame 152 of the upper elastic member 150. Forexample, the through-holes 147 may be formed in the second side portions142 of the housing 142 and the upper surface of the housing 140, whichis adjacent to the second side portions 142.

The first side portions 141 of the housing 140 may the second sideportions 142 of the housing 140 to each other and may include planes ata certain depth. Each of the first side portions 141 of the housing 140may have an area equal to or greater than the area of a correspondingmagnet 130.

The housing 140 may include a magnet seating portion 141 a foraccommodating the magnet 130 and a sensing coil seating groove 141 b forwinding or accommodating the sensing coil 170.

The magnet seating portion 141 a may be provided at an inner lower endof at least one of the first side portions 141 of the housing 140. Forexample, the magnet seating portion 141 a may be provided at the innerlower end of each of the first side portions 141, and each of themagnets 130 may be inserted into and fixed to a corresponding one of themagnet seating portions 141 a.

The magnet seating portion 141 a of the housing 140 may be formed as agroove corresponding to the size of the magnet 130. An opening may beformed in the bottom surface of the magnet seating portion 141 a of thehousing 140, which faces the second coil 240, and the lower surface ofthe magnet 130 fixed to the magnet seating portion 141 a may face thesecond coil 230.

The sensing coil seating groove 141 b in the housing 140 may be formedin a manner such that it is recessed from the outer surface of at leastone of the first side portions 141 or the second side portions 142 ofthe housing 140, and may be formed from one end to the other end of thefirst side portions 141 and/or the second side portions 142. Forexample, the sensing coil seating groove 141 b in the housing 140 may beprovided in the upper endof the outer surface of the first and secondside portions 141 and 142.

For example, the sensing coil seating groove 141 b in the housing 140may be spaced apart from the upper surface 401 of the housing 140, andmay be provided in the upper end of the outer surface of the first andsecond side portions 141 and 142, without limitation thereto.

The depth of the sensing coil seating groove 141 b may be greater thanor equal to the thickness of the sensing coil 170 wound therein. Forexample, the sensing coil 170 disposed in the sensing coil seatinggroove 141 b may not protrude from the outer surface of the first andsecond side portions of the housing 140. This serves to inhibit thesensing coil 170 disposed in the sensing coil seating groove 141 b frombeing separated outward from the sensing coil seating groove 141 b.

The sensing coil seating groove 141 b may be provided above the magnetseating portion 141 a in which the magnet 130 is seated. For example,the sensing coil seating groove 141 b may do not overlap the magnetseating portion 141 a in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis OA,without limitation thereto.

The first side portion 141 of the housing 140 may be disposed parallelto the side surface of the cover member 300. In addition, the area ofthe first side portion 141 of the housing 140 may be greater than thearea of the second side portion 142.

The second side portion 142 of the housing 140 may have therein thethrough-hole 147, which defines a path through which the support member220 passes. For example, the housing 140 may include the through-hole147 formed from the top of the second side portion 142. The number ofthrough-holes 147 may be the same as the number of support members.

In order to inhibit the sensing coil 170 disposed in the sensing coilseating groove 141 b from being separated from the housing 140, thehousing 140 may include a protruding portion 144, which protrudes fromthe upper surface 401 in the first direction. The protruding portion 144may be provided on the sensing coil seating groove 141 b and may inhibitthe sensing coil 170 wound around the upper end of the side portion ofthe housing 140 from being separated outward from the side portion ofthe housing 140.

For example, the protruding portion 144 of the housing 140 may includefirst protruding portions 144 a 1 to 144 a 4 disposed on the upper endor the upper surface of the first side portions 141 of the housing 140and second protruding portions 144 b 1 to 144 b 4 disposed on the upperend or the upper surface of the second side portions 142.

The first protruding portions 144 a 1 to 144 a 4 may be spaced apartfrom each other, and the second protruding portions 144 b 1 to 144 b 4may be spaced apart from each other. In addition, the first protrudingportions 144 a 1 to 144 a 4 and the second protruding portions 144 b 1to 144 b 4 may be spaced apart from each other.

For example, each of the first protruding portions 144 a 1 to 144 a 4may be disposed so as to be aligned with the center of the upper surfaceof a corresponding first side portion 141, and each of the secondprotruding portions 144 b 1 to 144 b 4 may be disposed so as to bealigned with the center of the upper surface of a corresponding secondside portion 142.

For example, the outer circumferential surface of the respective firstprotruding portions 144 a 1 to 144 a 4 may be linear or line-shaped inthe longitudinal direction, and the outer circumferential surface of therespective second protruding portions 144 b 1 to 144 b 4 may have acurved or bent shape in the longitudinal direction.

For example, the sensing coil seating groove 141 b may be spaced apartfrom the lower ends of the first protruding portions 144 a 1 to 144 a 4and the lower ends of the second protruding portions 144 b 1 to 144 b 4,without limitation thereto.

In another embodiment, the sensing coil seating groove 141 b may be incontact with the lower ends of the first protruding portions 144 a 1 to144 a 4 and the lower ends of the second protruding portions 144 b 1 to144 b 4.

Stoppers 412 a and 412 b may be provided on the upper surface of theprotruding portion 144 of the housing 140 in order to inhibit directcollision with the inner surface of the cover member 300 illustrated inFIG. 1 .

For example, the housing 140 may include a first stopper 412 a, whichprotrudes in the first direction from the upper surface of each of thefirst protruding portions 144 a 1 to 144 a 4, and a second stopper 412b, which protrudes in the first direction from the upper surface of eachof the second protruding portions 144 b 1 to 144 b 4.

For example, the first stopper 412 a may be provided so as to be alignedwith the center of the corresponding first protruding portion and may belinear or line-shaped in the longitudinal direction, and the secondstopper 412 b may be provided so as to be aligned with the center of thecorresponding second protruding portion and may have a curved or bentshape in the longitudinal direction.

At least one recess may be provided in the upper surface of the housing140 located between the protruding portions 144 a 1 to 144 a 4 and 144 b1 to 144 b 4.

For example, the upper surface of the side portions 141 and 142 of thehousing 140 may include a first area S1 and a second area S2.

The protruding portion 144 of the housing 140 may correspond to thefirst area S1 of the upper surface 401 of the housing 140, and theprotruding portion 144 may expose the second area S2 of the uppersurface 401 of the housing 140, which is the remaining portion excludingthe first area S1.

In addition, the recess in the housing 140 may correspond to the secondarea S2 of the upper surface 401 of the housing 140, and the second areaS2 of the upper surface 401 of the housing 140 may be open or exposed tothe outer surface and/or the inner surface of the side portion (e.g.,141) of the housing 140.

For example, the first area S1 of the housing 140 may have a structurethat protrudes with respect to the second area S2, and the second areaS2 may have a structure that is recessed with respect to the first areaS1. Then, the second area S2 may have a structure that is open to theouter surface and/or the inner surface of the respective side portions141 and 142 of the housing 140.

The sensing coil seating groove 141 b may include a first groove 144-1provided in the respective first side portions 141 and a second groove144-2 provided in the respective second side portions 142.

Assuming that, on the basis of the through-hole 147, the side of thehousing 140 oriented toward the hollow region is referred to as “inside”and the opposite side is referred to as “outside”, the second groove144-2 of the sensing coil seating groove 141 b may be located outsidethe through-hole 147 through which the support member 220 passes.

For example, the second groove 144-2 of the sensing coil seating groove141 b may be located farther away from the optical axis OA or a virtualstraight line that passes through the center of the hollow region of thehousing 140 and is parallel to the optical axis OA than the through-hole147.

For example, a first distance between the virtual straight line thatpasses through the center of the hollow region of the housing 140 and isparallel to the optical axis OA and the second groove 144-2 of thesensing coil seating groove 141 b may be greater than a second distancebetween the through-hole 147 and the virtual straight line that passesthrough the center of the hollow region of the housing 140 and isparallel to the optical axis OA.

A portion of the second side portion 142 of the housing 140 may bedisposed between the second groove 144-2 and the through-hole 147 inorder to allow the support member 220 and the sensing coil 170 to bespaced apart from each other.

A depression or a groove 402 may be provided in the lateral portion ofthe second groove 144-2 provided in the respective second side portions142.

The housing 140 may include at least one upper support protrusion 143,which is provided on the upper end or the upper surface thereof so as tobe coupled to the outer frame 152 of the upper elastic member 150.

The upper support protrusion 143 of the housing 140 may be formed on theupper surface of at least one of the first side portions 141 or thesecond side portions 142 of the housing 140.

For example, the upper support protrusion 143 may be provided on thesecond area S2 of the upper surface 401 of the housing 140, which islocated between the first protruding portions 144 a 1 to 144 a 4 and thesecond protruding portions 144 b 1 to 144 b 4.

In addition, the housing 140 may include a lower support protrusion 145,which is provided on the lower surface thereof so as to be coupled toand fixed to an outer frame 162 of the lower elastic member 160.

In order to define a path through which the support member 220 passesand to secure a space to be filled with a gel-type silicon that mayserve as a damper, the housing 140 may include a groove 142 a formed inthe second side portion 142. For example, the groove 142 a in thehousing 140 may be filled with a damping silicon.

In order to inhibit the housing 140 from colliding with the cover member300 when the housing 140 moves in the second direction and/or the thirddirection, the housing 140 may include at least one stopper (notillustrated), which protrudes in the second direction or the thirddirection from the outer surface of the respective first side portions141.

In order to inhibit the bottom surface of the housing 140 from collidingwith the base 210 and/or the circuit board 250, which will be describedbelow, the housing 140 may further include a stopper (not illustrated),which protrudes from the lower surface. Through the provision of thestoppers formed on the upper surface 401 and the lower surface of thehousing 140, the housing 140 may be downwardly spaced apart from thebase 210 and may be upwardly spaced apart from the cover member 300, soas to maintain the height thereof in the direction of the optical-axisOA without vertical interference. Thus, the housing 140 may perform theshifting operation in the second and third directions, which are thelongitudinal direction and the transverse direction in the planeorthogonal to the optical axis OA.

Next, the magnets 130 (130-1 to 130-4) will be described.

The magnet 130 may be disposed on the housing 140 such that at least aportion of the magnet overlaps the first coil 120 in a directionorthogonal to the optical axis OA. For example, the magnet 130 may beinserted into or disposed in the seating portion 141 a of the housing140.

The magnet 130 may be spaced apart from the sensing coil 170 mounted onthe housing 140, and a portion of the housing 140 may be disposedbetween the sensing coil and the magnet 130.

The magnet 130 may be disposed under the sensing coil 170.

For example, in order to reduce interference between the magnet 130 andthe sensing coil 170, the magnet 130 and the sensing coil 170 may bearranged so as not to overlap each other in the direction of the opticalaxis OA at the initial position thereof, but the embodiment is notlimited thereto, and in another embodiment, the two may be arranged soas to overlap each other.

For example, the sensing coil 170 may be disposed on the outer surfaceof the first and second side portions 141 and 142 of the housing 140,and the magnet 130 may be disposed on the inner surface of therespective first side portions 141 of the housing 140.

In another embodiment, each of the magnets 130 may be disposed on theouter surface of a corresponding first side portion 141 of the housing140 so as to be spaced apart from the sensing coil 170.

The magnet 130 may have a shape corresponding to that of the first sideportion 141 of the housing 140, for example, a rectangularparallelepiped shape, without limitation thereto.

The magnet 130 may be formed as one body, and may be disposed such thatthe surface thereof that faces the first coil 120 serves as an S-poleand the opposite surface serves as an N-pole. However, the disclosure isnot limited thereto, and the poles of the magnet may be reversed.

At least two magnets 130 may be provided on the housing 140, and may bearranged so as to face each other. For example, the magnet 130 may havea substantially rectangular planar surface, or alternatively may have atriangular or rhombic shape.

For example, the magnets 130 may be disposed on two first side portions,which face each other, among the first side portions 141 of the housing140.

Next, the upper elastic member 150, the lower elastic member 160, andthe support member 220 will be described.

The upper elastic member 150 and the lower elastic member 160 supportthe bobbin 110 by elasticity thereof. The upper elastic member 150 isconnected to the upper portion of the bobbin 110 and the upper portionof the housing 140 to support the upper portion of the bobbin 110 andthe upper portion of the housing 140. The lower elastic member 160 isconnected to the lower portion of the bobbin 110 and the lower portionof the housing 140 to support the lower portion of the bobbin 110 andthe lower portion of the housing 140.

At least a portion of the upper elastic member 150 may be disposed onthe upper surface of the side portions 141 and 142 of the housing 140between the protruding portions 144 a 1 to 144 a 4 and 144 b 1 to 144ab. For example, at least a portion of the upper elastic member 150 maybe disposed on the upper surface of the first side portions 141 of thehousing 140 between the first protruding portions 144 a 1 to 144 a 4 andthe second protruding portions 144 b 1 to 144 b 4.

For example, a portion of the outer frame 152 of the upper elasticmember 150 may be disposed on the upper surface of the first sideportions 141 of the housing 140 between the first protruding portionsand the second protruding portions.

A portion 901, in which a first coupling portion 510 and the frameconnection portion 153 of the upper elastic member 150 are connected toeach other, may be disposed on the upper surface of the first sideportions 141 of the housing 140 between the first protruding portions144 a 1 to 144 a 4 and the second protruding portions 144 b 1 to 144 b4.

In addition, at least a portion of the upper elastic member 150 may bedisposed in at least one recess in the upper surface of the housing 140.The at least one recess in the housing 140 may be open to the outersurface and/or the inner surface of the side portion of the housing 140,and at least the portion of the upper elastic member 150 disposed in theat least one recess may be exposed to the outer surface of the sideportion of the housing 140.

In addition, for example, the at least one recess in the housing 140 maybe provided in the same side portion of the housing 140 on which themagnet 130 is disposed, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. Inanother embodiment, the at least one recess in the housing 140 may beprovided in the side portion of the housing 140 other than the sideportion on which the magnet 130 is disposed.

In addition, the at least one recess in the housing 140 may be providedadjacent to at least one side of the upper surface of the housing 140.

At least a portion of the outer frame of the upper elastic member 150may be disposed in at least one recess in the housing 140. The sensingcoil 170 may be spaced apart from the upper elastic member 150 disposedin the recess in the housing 140, and at least the portion of the outerframe of the upper elastic member 150 disposed in the at least onerecess may overlap the sensing coil 170 in the optical-axis direction.

For example, at least one recess in the housing 140 may include a bottomand a side surface, the sensing coil 170 may be disposed under thebottom of the recess in the housing 140, and at least a portion of theupper elastic members 150 may be disposed in contact with the bottom ofthe recess.

The upper support protrusion 143 may be provided on the bottom of the atleast one recess in the housing 140 so as to be coupled to the outerframe of the upper elastic member 150.

The depth of the bottom of the at least one recess in the housing 140may be greater than or equal to the height of at least the portion ofthe upper elastic member 150 disposed on the bottom of the recess inorder to inhibit the upper elastic member 150 from being separated. Thatis, on the basis of the bottom of the recess in the housing 140, theheight of the upper end or the upper surface of the upper elastic member150 disposed in the recess may be less than or equal to the height ofthe upper end or the upper surface of the protruding portion of thehousing 140.

The support member 220 may movably support the housing 140 relative tothe base 210 in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis OA, and mayelectrically connect at least one of the upper or lower elastic member150 or 160 to the circuit board 250. For example, the support member 220may electrically connect the upper elastic member 150 to the circuitboard 250.

The upper elastic member 150 is not limited to that illustrated in FIG.2 , and a description related to an upper elastic member 1600illustrated in FIG. 20 , which will be described below, may be appliedto the upper elastic member 150.

For example, referring to FIG. 20 , the upper elastic member accordingto another embodiment may include an outer frame 1610 coupled to theupper portion of the housing 140, an inner frame 1620 coupled to theupper portion of the bobbin 110, and a frame connection portion 1630connecting the outer frame 1610 and the inner frame 1620 to each other.

The outer frame 1610 may include a first outer portion 1611, a secondouter portion 1612, a third outer portion 1613, and a fourth outerportion 1614.

The first outer portion 1611 may be connected to the inner frame 1620via the frame connection portion 1630, and the second outer portion 1612may be spaced apart from the frame connection portion 1630 and the innerframe 1620 of the first outer portion 1611.

The first and third outer portions 1611 and 1613 may be electricallyconnected to the first coil 120, and the second and fourth outerportions 1612 and 1614 may be electrically connected to the sensing coil170.

The first to fourth outer portions 1611, 1612, 1613 and 1614 may belocated on the corners of the housing 140, for example, on the secondside portions 142. For example, the first to fourth outer portions 1611,1612, 1613 and 1614 may extend along the side surfaces from the cornerportions of the housing 140.

The inner frame 1620 may include a first inner portion 1621 and a secondinner portion 1622, which are coupled to the bobbin 110 and are spacedapart from each other. The first inner portion 1621 may be electricallyconnected to one end of the first coil 120, and the second inner portion1622 may be electrically connected to the other end of the first coil.

The inner frame 1620 may include a first inner coupling portion 6211coupled to a first side portion of the bobbin 110, a second innercoupling portion 6212 coupled to a second side portion of the bobbin110, and a third inner coupling portion 6213 coupled to a third sideportion of the bobbin 110.

In addition, the inner frame 1620 may further include a dummy portion1625 connecting the first inner coupling portion 6211 and the secondinner coupling portion 6212 to each other. In addition, the inner frame1620 may further include the dummy portion 1625 connecting the secondinner coupling portion 6212 and the third inner coupling portion 6212 toeach other.

The frame connection portion 1630 may include first to fourth connectionportions 1631, 1632, 1633 and 1634 spaced apart from each other.

The first outer portion 1611 may be connected to the first inner portion1621 through the first connection portion 1631 and the second connectionportion 1632, the third outer portion 1613 may be connected to thesecond inner portion 1622 through the third connection portion 1633 andthe fourth connection portion 1634, and the fourth outer portion 1614may be spaced apart from the frame connection portion 1630 and the innerframe 1620.

The second outer portion 1612 and the fourth outer portion 1614 may notbe coupled to the bobbin 110, but may be coupled only to the housing140.

As illustrated in FIG. 18 , a lead wire of the sensing coil 170 may becoupled to the outer frame 1610 by a solder element 1912. In addition,as illustrated in FIG. 19 , the lead wire of the first coil 120 may becoupled to the inner frame 1620 by a solder element 1222.

FIG. 6 illustrates an assembled perspective view of the upper elasticmember 150, the lower elastic member 160, the base 210, the supportmember 220, the second coil 230, and the circuit board 250 illustratedin FIG. 1 .

Referring to FIG. 6 , the upper elastic member 150 may be divided intotwo or more pieces.

For example, the upper elastic member 150 may include first to fourthupper elastic members 150-1 to 150-4, which are electrically separatedfrom each other and are spaced apart from each other. For example, theseparated first to fourth upper elastic members 150-1 to 150-4 may bearranged so as to be point symmetrical in the x-y plane about the centerof the bobbin 110 or the housing 140. Here, “point symmetry” meanssymmetry in which two shapes overlap each other when the two shapes arerotated by 180 degrees about one rotation center point.

Any one of the first to fourth upper elastic members 150-1 to 150-4 maybe electrically connected to a corresponding one of support members 220.For example, each of the first to fourth upper elastic members 150-1 to150-4 may be directly connected to a corresponding one of first tofourth support members 220-1 to 220-4.

Each of the first to fourth upper elastic members 150-1 to 150-4 mayinclude an inner frame 151 connected to the bobbin 110, an outer frame152 connected to the housing 140, and a frame connection portion 153connecting the outer frame 152 and the inner frame 151 to each other.

For example, the inner frame 151 may be provided with a through-hole 151a to which the upper support protrusion 113 of the bobbin 110 iscoupled, and the outer frame 152 may be provided with a through-hole 152a, to which the upper support protrusion 143 of the housing 140 iscoupled.

Two upper elastic members selected from among the first to fourth upperelastic members 150-1 to 150-4 may be connected to both ends of thefirst coil 120. For example, the inner frames of the two upper elasticmembers selected from among the first to fourth upper elastic members150-1 through 150-4 may be electrically connected to both ends of thefirst coil 120.

In addition, the other two upper elastic members selected from among thefirst to fourth upper elastic members 150-1 to 150-4 may be connected toboth ends of the sensing coil 170. For example, the outer frames of thetwo upper elastic members selected from among the first to fourth upperelastic members 150-1 to 150-4 may be electrically connected to bothends of the sensing coil 170.

For example, through soldering, a leading end portion of the sensingcoil 170 may be directly bonded to the outer frame of any one of thefirst to fourth upper elastic members 150-1 to 150-4, and a trailing endportion of the sensing coil 170 may be directly bonded to the outerframe of any other one of the first to fourth upper elastic members150-1 to 150-4.

In addition, the outer frame 152 of each of the first to fourth upperelastic members 150-1 to 150-4 may be connected to at least one of thesupport members 220-1 to 220-4. For example, each of the outer frames152 of the first to fourth upper elastic members 150-1 to 150-4 may beconnected to one end of a corresponding one of the support members 220-1to 220-4.

The frame connection portion 153 of the upper elastic member 150 may bebent at least once to form a pattern having a predetermined shape.Upward movement and/or downward movement of the bobbin 110 in the firstdirection may be elastically supported by a change in position andmicro-deformation of the frame connection portion 153 of the upperelastic member 150.

The outer frame 152 of each of the first and fourth upper elasticmembers 150-1 to 150-4 may include the first coupling portion 510coupled to the housing 140, a second coupling portion 520 coupled to acorresponding support member 220, and a connection portion 530connecting the first and second coupling portions 510 and 520 to eachother.

One end of the respective support members 220-1 to 220-4 may be directlybonded to the second coupling portion 520 of the outer frame 152 of theupper elastic member 150 through soldering or using a conductiveadhesive member (e.g., conductive epoxy), for example.

The first coupling portion 510 of the upper elastic member 150 isconnected at one end thereof to the frame connection portion 153, andhas a through-hole 152 a to which the upper support protrusion 143 ofthe housing 140 is coupled.

The connection portion 530 of the outer frame 152 of each of the firstand fourth upper elastic members 150-1 to 150-4 may be straight or bentat least once, and the width of the connection portion 530 may be lessthan the width of the frame connection portion 153 of the upper elasticmember 150.

Since the width of the connection portion 530 is less than the width ofthe frame connection portion 153 of the upper elastic member 150, theconnection portion 530 may be easily moved in the first direction, whichmay disperse the stress applied to the upper elastic member 150 and thestress applied to the support member 220.

For example, the second coupling portion 520 of the upper elastic member150 may include a through-hole through which the support member 220passes, without limitation thereto.

The lower elastic member 160 may include the inner frame 161 coupledwith the lower support protrusion of the bobbin 110, the outer frame 162coupled to the lower support protrusion of the housing 140, and theframe connection portion 163 connecting the inner frame 161 and theouter frame to each other.

In FIG. 6 , the lower elastic member 160 is not divided, but may bedivided into two or more pieces in another embodiment.

Next, the sensing coil 170 will be described.

The sensing coil 170 is disposed on the side portion of the housing 140,for example, the side portions 141 and 142 of the housing 140. Forexample, the sensing coil 170 may be directly wound in the sensing coilseating groove 141 b, which is provided in the first and second sideportions 141 and 142 of the housing 140, so as to rotate in a clockwiseor counterclockwise direction about the optical axis OA. For example,the sensing coil 170 may be directly wound on the housing 140 in a ringshape.

When the sensing coil is implemented as a coil block and is bonded tothe upper end of the housing 140, a manual operation for seating andbonding the sensing coil is required. In this case, since it is not easyto implement the sensing coil in the form of a block so as to match theshape of the upper surface of the housing and since the sensing coil isbonded to the housing through the manual operation, reliability ofadhesion between the sensing coil and the housing may be deteriorated.In addition, since the sensing coil is disposed adjacent to the upperelastic member on the upper end of the housing, the installation of theupper elastic member may be limited, and bonding with the upper elasticmember and soldering operation are not easy.

On the other hand, in the embodiment, since the sensing coil 170 isdirectly wound in the sensing coil seating groove 141 b, which isprovided in the first and second side portions of 141 and 142 of thehousing 140, no manual operation for seating and bonding the sensingcoil 170 to the upper end of the housing 140 is required, which mayinhibit deterioration in bonding reliability between the sensing coil170 and the housing 140 and between the sensing coil 170 and the upperelastic member 150.

In addition, since the sensing coil 170 is disposed under the upperelastic member 150, there is no spatial limitation when the upperelastic member 150 is installed to the upper end of the housing 140.

Since each of the leading end portion and the trailing end portion ofthe sensing coil 170 is disposed so as to be in contact with a region ofthe first sidewall 141 or the second sidewall 142 of the housing 140 andis bonded to a region of the outer frame 152 of the upper elastic member150 through soldering, the embodiment may ensure easy implementation ofsoldering.

The driving signal applied to the first coil 120 may be an alternatingcurrent signal (e.g., alternating current). For example, the alternatingcurrent signal may be a sinusoidal signal or a pulse signal (e.g., apulse width modulation (PWM) signal). Alternatively, in anotherembodiment, the driving signal applied to the first coil 120 may includean alternating current signal (e.g., alternating current) and a directcurrent signal (e.g., direct current). The application of thealternating current signal to the first coil 120 serves to generate anelectromotive force or an inductive voltage in the sensing coil 170 byinteractive induction.

The first coil 120 may be moved in the first direction together with thebobbin 110 by the electromagnetic force caused by the electromagneticinteraction between the current flowing in the first coil 120 and themagnet 130 in response to the driving signal.

As the first coil 120 moves in the first direction, the distance betweenthe first coil 120 and the sensing coil 170 changes. As the distancechanges, an inductive voltage may be generated in the sensing coil 170.For example, as the distance decreases, the inductive voltage generatedin the sensing coil 170 may increase. Conversely, as the distanceincreases, the inductive voltage generated in the sensing coil 170 maydecrease.

The displacement of the first coil 120 and the bobbin 110 may bedetected based on the voltage induced in the sensing coil 170, andfeedback control of the displacement or driving signal of the bobbin 110may be implemented based on the detected displacement.

The sensing coil 170 may be disposed under the upper elastic member 150,which is disposed on the upper surface of the housing 140, and may bedisposed above the magnet 130, which is disposed on the housing 140.

At least a portion of the sensing coil 170 disposed on the housing 140may overlap the protruding portion 144 of the housing 140 in the firstdirection, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. In anotherembodiment, at least a portion of the sensing coil 170 may do notoverlap the protruding portion 144 of the housing 140.

Next, the support member 220 will be described.

A plurality of support members 220 may be provided, and the plurality ofsupport members 220-1 to 220-4 may be disposed so as to correspond tothe second side portions 142 of the housing 140. For example, each ofthe plurality of support members 220-1 to 220-4 may be disposed adjacentto a corresponding one of the four second side portions 142, and one endof the support member 220 may be bonded to the outer frame 152 of theupper elastic member 150 disposed on the corresponding second sideportion. Alternatively, in another embodiment, the support member 220may be disposed in the form of a leaf spring on the first side portion141 of the housing 140.

The plurality of support members 220-1 to 220-4 may define a path,through which the driving signal is transferred from the circuit board250 to the first coil 120, and may also define a path, through which theinductive voltage output from the sensing coil 170 is transferred to thecircuit board 250.

The plurality of support members 220-1 to 220-4 may be realized by amember capable of providing elastic support force, for example, a leafspring, a coil spring, a suspension wire, or the like. In addition, inanother embodiment, the support member 220 may be integrally formed withthe upper elastic member.

The plurality of support members 220-1 to 220-4 may be spaced apart fromthe housing 140, and may be directly connected to the connection portion530 of the outer frame 153 of the upper elastic member 150, rather thanbeing fixed to the housing 140.

The connection portion 530 of the outer frame 153 of the upper elasticmember 150 is spaced apart from the housing 140, and therefore, iseasily movable in the first direction.

Since the support members 220-1 to 220-4 according to the embodiment aredirectly connected to the connection portion 530, which is easilymovable in the first direction, the support members may more easily movein the first direction than a general support member fixed to thehousing 140, which may improve the accuracy of hand-tremor compensation.In particular, stress due to dropping and other kinds of impact may bedispersed, and deformation and disconnection of the support members220-1 to 220-4 due thereto may be suppressed.

The first to fourth upper elastic members 150-1 to 150-4 may beelectrically connected to the circuit board 250 through the supportmembers 220-1 to 220-4.

For example, both ends of the first coil 120 may be connected to theinner frames 151 of the first and second upper elastic members 150-1 and150-2, and may be electrically connected to the circuit board 250 by thefirst and second upper elastic members 150-1 and 150-2 and the supportmembers 220-2 and 220-3.

In addition, for example, both ends of the sensing coil 170 may beconnected to the inner frames 151 of the third and fourth upper elasticmembers 150-3 and 150-4, and may be electrically connected to thecircuit board 250 by the third and fourth upper elastic members 150-3and 150-4 and the support members 220-1 to 220-4.

The support members 220-1 to 220-4 may be located inside the ring-shapedsensing coil 170.

Next, the base 210, the circuit board 250, and the second coil 230 willbe described.

The base 210 may include a hollow region, which corresponds to thehollow region of the bobbin 110 and/or the hollow region of the housing140, and may have a shape that matches or corresponds to that of thecover member 300, for example, a rectangular shape.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exploded perspective view of the base 210, thesecond coil 230, and the circuit board 250 illustrated in FIG. 1 .

Referring to FIG. 7 , the base 210 may include a stepped portion 211 towhich an adhesive may be applied when bonding and fixing the covermember 300. Here, the stepped portion 211 may guide the cover member 300coupled to the upper side thereof, and may be coupled to the end of thecover member 300 in a surface contact manner.

A supporting portion 255 may be formed on the surface of the base 210that faces the portion of the circuit board 250 on which a terminal 251is formed, so as to have a size corresponding to that of the surface ofthe base. The supporting portion 255 of the base 210 may be formedwithout the stepped portion 211 so as to have a certain cross sectionfrom the outer surface of the base 210, and may serve to support aterminal surface 253 of the circuit board 250.

The edge of the base 210 may have a groove 212. When the edge of thecover member 300 has a protruding shape, the protruding portion of thecover member 300 may be fastened to the groove 212 in the base 210.

In addition, the upper surface of the base 210 may be provided withseating grooves 215-1 and 215-2 in which the OIS position sensor 240 maybe disposed. According to the embodiment, the base 210 may be providedwith two seating grooves 215-1 and 215-2 and the OIS position sensor 240may be disposed in the seating grooves 215-1 and 215-2 of the base 210so as to sense that the degree of movement of the housing 140 in thesecond direction and the third direction. To this end, virtual linesconnecting the centers of the seating grooves 215-1 and 215-2 of thebase 210 and the center of the base 210 may intersect each other. Forexample, the angle formed by the virtual lines connecting the centers ofthe seating grooves 215-1 and 215-2 of the base 210 and the center ofthe base 210 may be 90°, without limitation thereto.

The second coil 230 may be disposed on the upper side of the circuitboard 250, and the OIS position sensor 240 may be disposed on the lowerside of the circuit board 250.

The OIS position sensor 240 may sense the displacement of the housing140 relative to the base 210 in a direction (e.g., the X axis or Y axis)orthogonal to the optical axis OA (e.g., the Z axis). For example, theOIS position sensor 240 may sense a change in the magnetic force of themagnet 130 due to the movement of the housing 140, and may output asignal based on the sensed result.

The OIS position sensor 240 may include a first OIS position sensor 240a and a second OIS position sensor 240 b, which are arranged so as to beorthogonal to each other in order to sense the displacement of thehousing 140 in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis OA.

The circuit board 250 may be disposed on the upper surface of the base210, and may have a hollow region corresponding to the hollow region ofthe bobbin 110, the hollow region of the housing 140, and/or the hollowregion of the base 210. The shape of the outer circumferential surfaceof the circuit board 250 may have a shape that matches or corresponds tothat of the upper surface of the base 210, for example, a rectangularshape.

The circuit board 250 may at least one terminal surface 253 on which aplurality of terminals 251 or pins, which is bent from the upper surfaceand receives electrical signals from the outside, is formed.

In FIG. 7 , the second coil 230 is provided in a circuit member 231separate from the circuit board 250, but the disclosure is not limitedthereto. In another embodiment, the second coil 230 may be implementedin the form of a ring-shaped coil bock, may be implemented in the formof an FP coil, or may be implemented in the form of a circuit patternformed on the circuit board 250.

A through-hole 230 a may be formed in the circuit member 231 in whichthe second coil 230 is formed. The support member 220 may beelectrically connected to the circuit board 250 by passing through thethrough-hole 230 a.

The second coil 230 is disposed on the circuit board 250 so as to facethe magnet 130 disposed on the housing 140.

A total of four second coils 230 may be provided on four sides of thecircuit board 250, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. Only twosecond coils may be provided respectively in the second direction andthe third direction, or more than four second coils may be provided.

Hand-tremor compensation may be performed when the housing 140 moves inthe second direction and/or the third directions via the interaction ofthe magnet 130 and the second coil 230 disposed so as to face eachother.

The OIS position sensors 240 a and 240 b may be provided as hallsensors, or any other sensor capable of sensing the strength of amagnetic field may be used. For example, the OIS position sensors 240 aand 240 b may be implemented in the form of a driver including a hallsensor, or may be implemented only as a position detection sensor alonesuch as a hall sensor.

The OIS position sensors 240 a and 240 b may sense the displacement ofthe housing 140, and the OIS feedback operation may be performed usingthe sensed displacement.

The plurality of terminals 251 may be provided on the terminal surface253 of the circuit board 250.

For example, the plurality of terminals 251 provided on the terminalsurface 253 of the circuit board 250 may receive external power so as tosupply the power to the first and second coils 120 and 230 and the OISposition sensor 240, may receive the inductive voltage output from thesensing coil 170 so as to output the voltage to the outside, and mayreceive an output signal from the OIS position sensor 240 so as tooutput the signal to the outside.

According to the embodiment, the circuit board 250 may be formed of anFPCB, without limitation thereto, and the terminals of the circuit board250 may be directly formed on the surface of the base 210 using asurface electrode method or the like.

The circuit board 250 may include through-holes 250 a 1 and 250 a 2,through which the support member 220 may pass. The support member 220may be electrically connected to a corresponding circuit pattern, whichmay be disposed on the lower surface of the circuit board 250, throughthe through-holes 250 a 1 and 250 a 2 in the circuit board 250 throughsoldering or the like.

In addition, in another embodiment, the circuit board 250 may notinclude the through-holes 250 a 1 and 250 a 2, and the support member220 may be electrically connected to a circuit pattern or a pad, whichis formed on the upper surface of the circuit board 250, throughsoldering or the like.

The circuit board 250 may further include a through-hole 250 b, to whichan upper support protrusion 217 of the base 210 is coupled.

FIG. 8 illustrates a side perspective view of the lens driving deviceillustrated in FIG. 2 , FIG. 9 illustrates a cross-sectional view takenalong line I-I′ of the lens driving device illustrated in FIG. 2 , andFIG. 10 illustrates a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II′ ofthe lens driving device illustrated in FIG. 2 .

Referring to FIGS. 8 to 10 , the sensing coil 170 is directly wound inthe sensing coil seating groove 141 b provided in the first sidesurfaces 141 and the second side surfaces 142 of the housing 140.

At the initial position, the sensing coil 170 may do not overlap themagnet 130 in a direction orthogonal to the first direction. This servesto reduce interference between the magnet 130 and the sensing coil 170.

The initial position may be the initial position of the AF movable unitin the state in which no power is applied to the first coil 120, or maybe the position at which the AF movable unit is placed as the upper andlower elastic members 150 and 160 are elastically deformed only by theweight of the AF movable unit. The AF movable unit may include thebobbin 110 and the constituent elements mounted in the bobbin 110.

In addition, at the initial position, the sensing coil 170 may be spacedapart from the first coil 120 by a predetermined distance in the firstdirection and may do not overlap the first coil 120 in a directionorthogonal to the first direction. Maintaining the predetermineddistance between the first coil and the sensing coil 170 in the firstdirection ensures the linearity of the inductive voltage that is inducedin the sensing coil 170 by the current of the first coil 120.

At the initial position, the sensing coil 170 may overlap the magnet 130in the first direction, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. Inanother embodiment, the two may do not overlap each other in the firstdirection.

The sensing coil 170 may be directly wound around the side portion ofthe housing 140 so that at least a portion thereof is located outsidethe support member 220. For example, the outer side of the supportmember 220 may be opposite the center of the hollow region of thehousing 140.

The support member 220 may be located between the first coil 120 and thesensing coil 170 in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis OA.

The sensing coil 170 may include first portions 170-1 (see FIG. 8 )disposed on the outer surface of the first side portions 141, and secondportions 170-2 (see FIG. 8 ) disposed on the outer surface of the secondside portions 142.

For example, each of the first portions 170-1 of the sensing coil 170may be linear, and each of the second portions 170-2 may be curved.

The second portions 170-2 of the sensing coil 170 may be located outsidethe support member 220. For example, each of the second portions 170-2of the sensing coil 170 may be located outside a corresponding one ofthe support members 220-1 to 220-4.

The distance from the center of the housing 140 to each of the supportmembers 220-1 to 220-4 is less than the distance from the center of thehousing 140 to each of the second portions 170-2 of the sensing coil170. For example, the distance from the center of the housing 140 to anyone of the support members (e.g., 220-1) may be less than the distancefrom the center of the housing to the second portion 170-2 of thesensing coil 170, which corresponds to the support member (e.g., 220-1).

The sensing coil 170 does not overlap the frame connection portion 153of each of the first to fourth upper elastic members 150-1 to 150-4 inthe first direction. Due thereto, assuming that the number of turns isthe same, the length of the sensing coil 170 may be increased.

At least a portion of the outer frame 152 of the upper elastic member150 may be disposed on the second area S2 of the upper surface 401 ofthe housing 140, which is exposed by the protruding portion 144. Duethereto, the sensing coil 170 may overlap the outer frame 152 of each ofthe first to fourth upper elastic members 150-1 to 150-4 in the firstdirection.

For example, at least a portion of the first coupling portion 510 of theouter frame 152 of each of the first to fourth upper elastic members150-1 to 150-4 may overlap the sensing coil 170 in the first direction.

For example, the portion 901, in which the first coupling portion 510and the frame connection portion 153 of the first to fourth upperelastic members 150-1 to 150-4 are connected to each other, may overlapthe sensing coil 170 in the first direction.

Since the upper elastic member 150 may be disposed on the upper surfaceof the housing 140 so that the outer frame 152 thereof overlaps thesensing coil 170 in the first direction, there is no spatial limitationwhen the upper elastic member 150 is disposed on the housing 140, andthe upper elastic member 150 may be disposed with increased freedom.

Since the sensing coil 170 is directly wound around the side portion ofthe housing 140 so that the second portion 170-2 thereof is locatedoutside the support members 220-1 to 220-4, according to the embodiment,the sensing coil 170 may be wound on the upper end of the outer surfaceof the first and second side portions 141 and 142 of the housing 140,and the length of the sensing coil 170 that is wound once around thehousing 140 may increase. The number of turns of the housing 140 forrealizing the sensing coil 170 having a predetermined resistance valuemay decrease as the length of the sensing coil 170 that is wound once isincreased. Then, as the number of turns of the sensing coil 170decreases, the area of the housing 140 required for the sensing coil 170may decrease and the area for disposing the magnet 130 may increase,which may allow an increase in the size of the magnet that may bemounted in the housing 140.

For example, the resistance value of the sensing coil may be influencedby a change in temperature, and sensing current may change due to thechange in the resistance value of the sensing coil. Since the influenceof the sensing current due to such a change in temperature may causemalfunction of AF driving, temperature compensation is required. Bymaking the resistance of the sensing coil equal to or greater than apredetermined resistance value (e.g., 30 Ω), such temperaturecompensation may be easily performed. The embodiment may realize asufficient resistance value for facilitating temperature compensationwith a small number of turns.

As a result, by securing the space in the housing 140 in which themagnet 130 having a larger size may be disposed, the embodiment mayincrease the electromagnetic force due to the interaction with themagnet 130.

FIG. 11 is a top view illustrating the arrangement of the sensing coil170 illustrated in FIG. 8 .

Referring to FIG. 11 , since the sensing coil 170 is wound around thehousing 140 so that a curved portion 302 of the sensing coil 170 islocated outside the support member 220-1, it is possible to increase thelength of one turn of the sensing coil 170 compared with the case inwhich the curved portion of the sensing coil 170 is located inside thesupport member 220-1.

As described above, in the embodiment, since the sensing coil 170 isdirectly wound on the outer surfaces of the first and second sideportions 141 and 142 of the housing 140, deterioration in bondingreliability between the sensing coil 170 and the housing 140 or betweenthe sensing coil 170 and the upper elastic member 150 may be inhibited.

In addition, since the sensing coil 170 is disposed below the upperelastic member 150 and spaced apart from the upper elastic member 150,in the embodiment, the upper elastic member 150 is disposed on the upperend of the housing 140 without any spatial limitation.

In addition, since the sensing coil 170 is disposed outside the supportmember 220, it is possible to maximize the length of the outermostperiphery of the sensing coil 170, to realize the sensing coil 170having a predetermined resistance with a small number of turns, and toincrease the size of the magnet 130, which may be disposed on thehousing 140, so as to increase the electromagnetic force for AF or OISdriving.

FIG. 12 illustrates a top view of the portion II indicated by the dottedline of FIG. 8 , and FIG. 13 illustrates a side perspective view of theportion II indicated by the dotted line of FIG. 8 .

In order to secure the linearity of the inductive voltage induced in thesensing coil 170 by the current of the first coil 120, it may benecessary to set the distance between the first coil 120 and the sensingcoil 170 in the first direction to be equal to or greater than apredetermined distance.

The sensing coil 170 according to the embodiment is disposed on theupper end of the side portions 141 and 142 of the housing 140 adjacentto the upper surface 401 of the housing 140, so that the distancebetween the first coil 120 and the sensing coil 170 may be equal to orgreater than a predetermined distance in the first direction.

When the sensing coil 170 is disposed on the upper end of the sideportions 141 and 142 of the housing 140, the sensing coil 170 may beseparated upward from the housing 140. The protruding portion 144 of thehousing 140 of the embodiment may serve to inhibit the sensing coil 170disposed on the upper end of the side portion of the housing 140 frombeing separated upward.

Unlike the embodiment, when the protruding portion 144 of the housing140 is disposed on the front edge of the upper surface of the housing140, which corresponds to or is aligned with the sensing coil 140disposed on the housing 140, the space in which the upper elastic member150 is disposed on the upper surface of the elastic member 140 may belimited. Thus, the embodiment may overcome a spatial limitationpertaining to the installation of the upper elastic member 150 byallowing the second area S2 of the upper surface 401 of the housing 140to be exposed and allowing the outer frame 152 of the upper elasticmember 150 to be disposed on the second area S2 of the upper surface 401of the housing 140 through the provision of the protruding portion 144.

A portion 501 of the side portion of the housing 140 may be disposedbetween the upper elastic member 150 and the sensing coil 170 in orderto inhibit interference or contact between the upper elastic member 150and the sensing coil 170.

Here, a distance d1 between the lower surface of the upper elasticmember 150 and the upper surface of the sensing coil 170 may range from0.05 mm to 1 mm. When the distance d1 is less than 0.05 mm, interferenceor contact may occur between the upper elastic member 150 and thesensing coil 170. For example, the distance d1 between the lower surfaceof the upper elastic member 150 and the upper surface of the sensingcoil 170 may range from 0.05 mm to 0.1 mm. When the distance d1 exceeds1 mm, the distance between the first coil 120 and the sensing coil 170in the first direction may not be sufficiently secured, which may makeit impossible to secure the linearity of the inductive voltage of thesensing coil 170.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a lens driving device according toanother embodiment, FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view of the lensdriving device illustrated in FIG. 14 , FIG. 16 is a perspective view ofthe lens driving device of FIG. 14 excluding a cover member, FIG. 17 isa plan view of FIG. 16 , FIG. 18 is a perspective view illustrating aportion of the lens driving device of FIG. 16 , FIG. 19 is a perspectiveview illustrating another portion of the lens driving device of FIG. 16, and FIG. 20 is a plan view illustrating an upper elastic member ofFIG. 17 .

Hereinafter, the direction toward the center of the lens driving devicewill be referred to “inside”, and the direction away from the center ofthe lens driving device will be referred to as “outside”.

Hereinafter, any one of an AF coil unit 1220, a drive magnet unit 1320,and an OIS coil unit 1420 may be referred to as a “first drive unit”,another one thereof may be referred to as a “second drive unit”, and theremaining one thereof may be referred to as a “third drive unit”.Meanwhile, the embodiment will be described on the assumption that theAF coil unit 1220 is located on the bobbin 1210, the drive magnet unit1320 is located on a housing 1310, and the OIS coil unit 1420 is locatedon a base 1500, but the AF coil unit 1220, the drive magnet unit 1320,and the OIS coil unit 1420 may be arranged with their positionsinterchanged. Moreover, at least one of the AF coil unit 1220 and theOIS coil unit 1420 may be replaced with an additional magnet unit. Thatis, the first to third drive units may be provided in any otherconfiguration as long as they are capable of selectively undergoingelectromagnetic interaction with each other.

Hereinafter, any one of the AF coil unit 1220, the OIS coil unit 1420,and a sensing coil unit 1910 may be referred to as a “first coil unit”,another one thereof may be referred to as a “second coil unit”, and theremaining one thereof may be referred to as a “third coil unit”.

Hereinafter, any one of the upper elastic member 1600, a lower elasticmember 1700, and a lateral support member 1800 may be referred to as a“first support member”, another one may be referred to as a “secondsupport member”, and the other one may be referred to as a “thirdsupport member”.

Referring to FIGS. 14 to 20 , the lens driving device may include acover member 1100, a first mover 1200, a second mover 1300, a stator1400, the base 1500, the upper elastic member 1600, the lower elasticmember 1700, the lateral support member 1800, and a sensor unit (notillustrated). However, in the lens driving device according to theembodiment, at least one of the cover member 1100, the first mover 1200,the second mover 1300, the stator 1400, the base 1500, the upper elasticmember 1600, the lower elastic member 1700, the lateral support member1800, and the sensor unit may be omitted. In particular, the sensor unitis used for an autofocus feedback function and/or a hand-tremorcompensation feedback function and may be omitted.

The cover member 1100 may accommodate the housing 1310 and the bobbin1210 in the inner space thereof. The cover member 1100 may be coupled tothe base 1500. The cover member 1100 may form the external appearance ofthe lens driving device. The cover member 1100 may be in the form of ahexahedron having an open bottom. However, the disclosure is not limitedthereto.

The cover member 1100 may be formed of a metal material as an example.In more detail, the cover member 1100 may be formed of a metal plate. Inthis case, the cover member 1100 may block electro magnetic interference(EMI). Because of this feature of the cover member 1100, the covermember 1100 may be referred to as an “EMI shield can”. The cover member1100 may inhibit electromagnetic waves generated outside the lensdriving device from being introduced into the cover member 1100. Inaddition, the cover member 1100 may inhibit the electromagnetic wavesgenerated inside the cover member 1100 from being emitted to the outsideof the cover member 1100. However, the material of the cover member 1100is not limited thereto.

The cover member 1100 may include an upper plate 1110 and a side plate1120. The cover member 1100 may include the side plate 1120 having alower end coupled to the base 1500. The cover member 1100 may includethe upper plate 1110 located at the upper side of the housing 1310. Thelower end of the side plate 1120 of the cover member 1100 may be mountedon the base 1500. The cover member 1100 may be mounted on the base 1500in such a manner that the inner surface of the cover member comes intoclose contact with a portion or all of the side surface of the base1500. The first mover 1200, the second mover 1300, the stator 1400 andthe support members 1600, 1700 and 1800 may be located in the innerspace defined by the cover member 1100 and the base 1500. With such astructure, the cover member 1100 may protect inner constituent elementsfrom external shocks and may inhibit the introduction of externalcontaminants. However, the disclosure is not limited thereto, and thelower end of the side plate 1120 of the cover member 1100 may bedirectly coupled to a printed circuit board located below the base 1500.

The cover member 1100 may include an opening 1130 formed in the upperplate 1110 to expose a lens module. The opening 1130 may be provided ina shape corresponding to that of the lens module. The size of theopening 1130 may be greater than the diameter of the lens module so thatthe lens module may be assembled through the opening 1130. Meanwhile,the light introduced through the opening 1130 may pass through the lensmodule. Here, the light having passed through the lens module may beacquired as an image in an image sensor.

The first mover 1200 may include the bobbin 1210 and the AF coil unit1220. The first mover 1200 may include the bobbin 1210 coupled to thelens module. The first mover 1200 may include the AF coil unit 1220,which is located on the bobbin 1210 and is configured to move viaelectromagnetic interaction with the drive magnet unit 1320.

The bobbin 1210 may be accommodated in the inner space in the covermember 1100. The bobbin 1210 may be coupled to the lens module. Morespecifically, the outer circumferential surface of the lens module maybe coupled to the inner circumferential surface of the bobbin 1210. TheAF coil unit 1220 may be located on the bobbin 1210. The AF coil unit1220 may be coupled to the bobbin 1210. The upper elastic member 1600may be coupled to the upper portion of the bobbin 1210. The bobbin 1210may be located inside the housing 1310. The bobbin 1210 may be movedrelative to the housing 1310 in the direction of the optical axis.

The bobbin 1210 may include first to third side portions 1201, 1202 and1203, which are consecutively arranged. The bobbin 1210 may include thefirst side portion 1201, which faces a first side surface portion 1301.The bobbin 1210 may include the second side portion 1202, which faces asecond side surface portion 1302. The bobbin 1210 may include the thirdside portion 1203, which faces a third side surface portion 1303.

The bobbin 1210 may include a lens accommodating portion 1211, a firstdrive unit coupling portion 1212, an upper coupling portion 1213, and alower coupling portion (not illustrated).

The bobbin 1210 may include therein the lens accommodating portion 1211having open upper and lower sides. The bobbin 1210 may include the lensaccommodating portion 1211 formed therein. The lens accommodatingportion 1211 may be coupled to the lens module. Threads having a shapecorresponding to threads formed on the outer circumferential surface ofthe lens module may be formed on the inner circumferential surface ofthe lens accommodating portion 1211. That is, the lens accommodationportion 211 may be screwed to the lens module. An adhesive may beinterposed between the lens module and the bobbin 1210. Here, theadhesive may be epoxy that is cured by ultraviolet (UV) light or heat.That is, the lens module and bobbin 1210 may be bonded to each other byan UV-curable epoxy and/or a thermally curable epoxy.

The bobbin 1210 may include a first drive unit coupling portion 1212 onwhich the AF coil unit 1220 is disposed. The first drive unit couplingportion 1212 may be formed integrally with the outer surface of thebobbin 1210. In addition, a plurality of first drive unit couplingportions 1212 may be consecutively formed along the outer surface of thebobbin 1210, or may be spaced apart from each other at a predeterminedinterval. For example, the first drive unit coupling portion 1212 may beformed such that a portion of the outer surface of the bobbin 1210 isrecessed so as to correspond to the shape of the AF coil unit 1220.Here, the AF coil unit 1220 may be directly wound on the first driveunit coupling portion 1212. As a modification, the first drive unitcoupling portion 1212 may be formed such that the upper side or thelower side thereof is open. Here, the AF coil unit 1220 may be wound inadvance and then may be inserted into and coupled to the first driveunit coupling portion 1212 through the open side.

The bobbin 1210 may include the upper coupling portion 1213 coupled tothe upper elastic member 1600. The upper coupling portion 1213 may becoupled to the inner frame 1620 of the upper elastic member 1600. In oneexample, a protrusion (not illustrated) of the upper coupling portion1213 may be inserted into and coupled to a groove or hole (notillustrated) in the inner frame 1620 of the upper elastic member 1600.Here, the protrusion of the upper coupling portion 1213 may be thermallyfused in the state of being inserted into the hole in the inner frame1620 so as to fix the upper elastic member 1600.

The bobbin 1210 may include the lower coupling portion coupled to thelower elastic member 1700. The lower coupling portion may be coupled toan inner frame 1720 of the lower support member 1700. In an example, aprotrusion (not illustrated) of the lower coupling portion may beinserted into and coupled to a groove or a hole (not illustrated) in theinner frame 1720 of the lower support member 1700. Here, the protrusionof the lower coupling portion may be thermally fused in the state ofbeing inserted into the hole in the inner frame 720 so as to fix thelower support member 1700.

The AF coil unit 1220 may be located on the bobbin 1210. The AF coilunit 1220 may be coupled to the bobbin 1210. The AF coil unit 1220 maybe guided by the first drive unit coupling portion 1212 and wound on theouter surface of the bobbin 1210. In addition, in another embodiment,the AF coil unit 1220 may include four independent coils so that twoneighboring coils are disposed on the outer surface of the bobbin 1210at an angular distance of 90°. The AF coil unit 1220 may face the drivemagnet unit 1320. The AF coil unit 1220 may be disposed so as to becapable of electromagnetic interacting with the drive magnet unit 1320.The AF coil unit 1220 may move the bobbin 1210 relative to the housing1310 via the electromagnetic interaction with the drive magnet unit1320.

The AF coil unit 1220 may include a pair of lead wires 1221 for thesupply of a voltage. Here, the pair of lead wires 1221 of the AF coilunit 1220 may be connected respectively to the first inner portion 1621and the second inner portion 1622. That is, the AF coil unit 1220 mayreceive a voltage through the upper elastic member 1600. With such astructure, when a voltage is supplied to the AF coil unit 1220, anelectromagnetic field may be formed around the AF coil unit 1220. Thelead wires 1221 of the AF coil unit 1220 may be coupled to the firstinner portion 1621 and the second inner portion 1622. Thereby, the AFcoil unit 1220 may be in electrical conduction with the first outerportion 1611 and the third outer portion 1613. In this case, a voltagemay be supplied from a substrate 1410 to the AF coil unit 1220 through afirst support portion 1810 coupled to the first outer portion 1611 and athird support portion 1830 coupled to the third outer portion 1613. Morespecifically, the current supplied to a terminal 1412 of the substrate1410 may be supplied to the AF coil unit 1220 by sequentially passingthrough the first support portion 1810, the first outer portion 1611,the first and second connection portions 1631 and 1632, and the firstinner portion 1621. In addition, current supplied to the AF coil unit1220 may be transferred to the terminal 1412 of the substrate 1410through the second inner portion 1622, the third and fourth connectionportions 1633 and 1634, the third outer portion 1613, and the thirdsupport portion 1830.

The lead wire 1221 of the AF coil unit 1220 may be coupled to the innerframe 1620 via a solder element 1222, as illustrated in FIG. 19 .However, the coupling between the AF coil unit 1220 and the inner frame1620 is not limited to soldering, and any other coupling method may beapplied as long as it provides electrically conductive fixing.

The second mover 1300 may be moved for hand-tremor compensation. Thesecond mover 1300 may be located outside the first mover 1200 so as toface the first mover 1200. The second mover 1300 may move the firstmover 1200, or may be moved together with the first mover 1200. Thesecond mover 1300 may be movably supported by the stator 1400 and/or thebase 1500 located thereunder. The second mover 1300 may be located inthe inner space in the cover member 1100.

The second mover 1300 may include the housing 1310 and the drive magnetunit 1320. The second mover 1300 may include the housing 1310 locatedoutside the bobbin 1210. In addition, the second mover 1300 may includethe drive magnet unit 1320, which is located so as to face the AF coilunit 1220 and is fixed to the housing 1310.

At least a portion of the housing 1310 may be formed to have a shapecorresponding to that of the inner surface of the cover member 1100. Inparticular, the outer surface of the housing 1310 may be formed to havea shape corresponding to that of the inner surface of the side plate1120 of the cover member 1100. The housing 1310 may take the form of ahexahedron including four sides as an example. However, the housing 1310may have any other shape as long as it may be disposed inside the covermember 1100. The housing 1310 may be formed of an insulating materialand may be formed as an injection molded article in consideration ofproductivity.

The housing 1310 may be located outside the bobbin 1210. The housing1310 may be provided with the drive magnet unit 1320. The housing 1310may be located above the base 1500. The housing 1310 may be moved forOIS driving and may be spaced apart from the cover member 1100 by acertain distance. However, in an AF model, the housing 1310 may be fixedon the base 1500. Alternatively, in the AF model, the housing 1310 maybe omitted and the drive magnet unit 1320 may be fixed to the covermember 1100. The upper support member 1600 may be coupled to the upperportion of the housing 1310. The housing 1310 may be spaced apart fromthe bobbin 1210. However, in this case, a portion of the bobbin 1210 anda portion of the housing 1310 may be in contact with each other as thebobbin 1210 moves.

The housing 1310 may include the first to third side surface portions1301, 1302 and 1303, which are consecutively arranged. The housing 1310may include the first side surface portion 1301. The housing 1310 mayinclude the second side surface portion 1302 adjacent to the first sidesurface portion 1301. The housing 1310 may include the third sidesurface portion 1303 adjacent to the second side surface 1302.

The housing 1310 may include an inner space 1311, a second drive unitcoupling portion 1312, an upper coupling portion 1313, and a lowercoupling portion (not illustrated).

The upper and lower sides of the housing 1310 may be open to accommodatethe first mover 1200 so as to be movable in the vertical direction. Thehousing 1310 may include the inner space 1311 having open upper andlower sides. The bobbin 1210 may be movably disposed in the inner space1311. That is, the inner space 1311 may have a shape corresponding tothat of the bobbin 1210. In addition, the inner circumferential surfaceof the housing 1310, which forms the inner space 1311, may be spacedapart from the outer circumferential surface of the bobbin 1210.

The housing 1310 may include the second drive unit coupling portion1312, which is formed on the side surface of the housing to have a shapecorresponding to that of the drive magnet unit 1320 so as to accommodatethe drive magnet 1320. The second drive unit coupling portion 1312 mayaccommodate and fix the drive magnet unit 1320. The drive magnet unit1320 may be fixed to the second drive unit coupling portion 1312 usingan adhesive (not illustrated). Meanwhile, the second drive unit couplingportion 1312 may be located on the inner circumferential surface of thehousing 1310. This case is advantageous from the aspect ofelectromagnetic interaction of the second drive unit coupling portionwith the AF coil unit 1220 located inside the drive magnet unit 1320. Inaddition, the second drive unit coupling portion 1312 may have an openbottom shape as an example. In this case, there is an advantage from theaspect of electromagnetic interaction between the OIS coil unit 1420located below the drive magnet unit 1320 and the drive magnet unit 1320.In an example, four second drive unit coupling portion 1312 may beprovided. The drive magnet unit 1320 may be coupled to each of the foursecond drive unit coupling portions 1312.

The housing 1310 may include the upper coupling portion 1313 coupled tothe upper elastic member 1600. The upper coupling portion 1313 may becoupled to the outer frame 1610 of the upper support member 1600. As anexample, a protrusion of the upper coupling portion 1313 may be insertedinto and coupled to a groove or a hole (not illustrated) in the outerframe 1610 of the upper elastic member 1600. Here, the protrusion of theupper coupling portion 1313 is thermally fused in the state of beinginserted into the hole in the outer frame 1610 so as to fix the uppersupporting member 1600.

The housing 1310 may include the lower coupling portion coupled to thelower elastic member 1700. The lower coupling portion may be coupled toan outer frame 1710 of the lower elastic member 1700. As an example, aprotrusion of the lower coupling portion may be inserted into andcoupled to a groove or a hole (not illustrated) in the outer frame 1710of the lower elastic member 1700. Here, the protrusion of the lowercoupling portion may be thermally fused in the state of being insertedinto the hole in the outer frame 1710 so as to fix the lower elasticmember 1700.

The drive magnet unit 1320 may be accommodated in the inner space in thecover member 1100. The drive magnet unit 1320 may face the AF coil unit1220. The drive magnet unit 1320 may move the AF coil unit 1220 viaelectromagnetic interaction with the AF coil unit 1220. The drive magnetunit 1320 may be located in the housing 1310. The drive magnet unit 1320may be fixed to the second drive unit coupling portion 1312 of thehousing 1310. The drive magnet unit 1320 may be disposed in the housing1310 such that four magnets are provided independently of each other andtwo neighboring magnets form an angle of 90 degrees. That is, the drivemagnet unit 1320 may efficiently use the internal volume via themagnets, which are equidistantly mounted on four side surfaces of thehousing 1310. In addition, the drive magnet unit 1320 may be bonded tothe housing 1310 using an adhesive. However, the disclosure is notlimited thereto.

The stator 1400 may include the substrate 1410 and the OIS coil unit1420 as an example. The stator 1400 may include the substrate 1410located between the OIS coil unit 1420 and the base 1500. In addition,the stator 1400 may include the OIS coil unit 1420, which faces thedrive magnet 1320.

The substrate 1410 may be located below the housing 1310. The OIS coilunit 1420 may be located on the substrate 1410. The OIS coil unit 1420may be coupled to the substrate 1410. The substrate 1410 may include aflexible printed circuit board (FPCB), which is a flexible printedcircuit board. The substrate 1410 may be located between the base 1500and the housing 1310. The substrate 1410 may be located between the OIScoil unit 1420 and the base 1500. The substrate 1410 may supply avoltage to the OIS coil unit 1420. The substrate 1410 may supply avoltage to the AF coil unit 1220. As an example, the substrate 1410 maysupply a voltage to the AF coil unit 1220 through the lateral supportmember 1800 and the upper elastic member 1600. In addition, thesubstrate 1410 may be in electrical conduction with the sensing coilunit 1910 through the lateral support member 1800 and the upper elasticmember 1600.

The substrate 1410 may include a body portion 1411, a terminal portion1412, and a through-hole 1413 as an example. The substrate 1410 mayinclude the terminal portion 1412, which extends from one side of thebody portion 1411 and is bent downward. The substrate 1410 may includethe through-hole 1413 through which light having passed through the lensmodule passes.

The OIS coil unit 1420 may face the drive magnet unit 1320. The OIS coilunit 1420 may move the drive magnet unit 1320 via electromagneticinteraction. The OIS coil unit 1420 may be located on the substrate1410. The OIS coil unit 1420 may be located between the base 1500 andthe housing 1310. The OIS coil unit 1420 may face the drive magnet unit1320. When a voltage is applied to the OIS coil unit 1420, the drivemagnet unit 1320 and the housing 1310, to which the drive magnet unit1320 is fixed, may integrally move via the interaction of the OIS coilunit 1420 and the drive magnet unit 1320.

The OIS coil unit 1420 may be formed of a fine pattern (FP) coil mountedon the substrate 1410. In this case, the OIS coil unit may be effectivein terms of downsizing of the lens driving device (lowering the heightin the z-axis direction, which is the optical-axis direction).

The OIS coil unit 1420 may be formed so as to minimize interference withthe OIS sensor unit 1920 located thereunder as an example. The OIS coilunit 1420 may be located so as not to overlap the OIS sensor unit 1920in the vertical direction.

The OIS coil unit 1420 may include a coupling portion 1421 coupled tothe lateral support member 1800. The coupling portion 1421 of the OIScoil unit 1420 may be coupled to the lateral support member 1800. Forexample, the coupling portion 1421 may be formed as a through-hole, andthe lateral support member 1800 formed of a wire may pass through thecoupling portion 1421. A portion of the lateral support member 1800,which has passed through the coupling portion 1421, may be coupled tothe OIS coil unit 1420 through soldering.

The OIS coil unit 1420 may have a through-hole 1422 through which thelight of the lens module passes. The through-hole 1422 may have adiameter corresponding to the diameter of the lens module. Thethrough-hole 1422 in the OIS coil unit 1420 may have a diametercorresponding to that of the through-hole 1413 in the substrate 1410.The through-hole 1422 in the OIS coil unit 1420 may have a diametercorresponding to that of a through-hole 1510 in the base 1500. Thethrough-hole 1422 may have a circular shape as an example. However, thedisclosure is not limited thereto.

The base 1500 may be disposed on a printed circuit board. The base 1500may be fixed to the printed circuit board using an adhesive for activealignment. The base 1500 may be located below the bobbin 1210. The base1500 may be located below the housing 1310. The base 1500 may supportthe second mover 1300. The printed circuit board may be located belowthe base 1500. The base 1500 may perform a sensor holder function ofprotecting an image sensor mounted on the printed circuit board.

The base 1500 may include the through-hole 1510, a foreign substancecollector (not illustrated), and a sensor mounting portion 1530. Thebase 1500 may include an erroneous insertion inhibiting portion (notillustrated).

The base 1500 may include the through-hole 1510 formed at a positioncorresponding to the lens accommodating portion 1211 of the bobbin 1210.Meanwhile, an infrared ray filter may be coupled to the through-hole1510 in the base 1500. However, an infrared filter may be coupled to aseparate sensor holder disposed under the base 1500.

The base 1500 may include the foreign substance collector, whichcollects a foreign substance introduced into the cover member 1100. Theforeign substance collector may be located on the upper surface of thebase 1500 and may include an adhesive material to collect a foreignsubstance in the inner space defined by the cover member 1100 and thebase 1500.

The base 1500 may include the sensor mounting portion 1530 to which theOIS sensor unit 1920 is coupled. That is, the OIS sensor unit 1920 maybe mounted on the sensor mounting portion 1530. Here, the OIS sensorunit 1920 may sense the magnetic field of the drive magnet unit 1320coupled to the housing 1310, thereby detecting horizontal movement ortilting of the housing 1310. Two sensor mounting portions 1530 may beprovided as an example. Each of the two sensor mounting portions 1530may be provided with the OIS sensor unit 1920. In this case, the OISsensor unit 1920 may include a first axis sensor and a second axissensor, which are arranged to sense both the x-axis and y-axis movementsof the housing 1310.

The support members 1600, 1700 and 1800 may interconnect any two or moreof the first mover 1200, the second mover 1300, the stator 1400, and thebase 1500. The support members 1600, 1700 and 1800 elasticallyinterconnect any two or more of the first mover 1200, the second mover1300, the stator 1400, and the base 1500 so as to support the respectiveelements to enable a relative movement therebetween. The support members1600, 1700 and 1800 may be formed so that at least a portion thereof haselasticity. In this case, the support members 1600, 1700 and 1800 may bereferred to as “elastic members” or “springs”.

The support members 1600, 1700 and 1800 may include, for example, theupper elastic member 1600, the lower elastic member 1700, and thelateral support member 1800. Here, the upper elastic member 1600 or thelower elastic member 1700 may be referred to as “an upper elastic memberor a lower elastic member”, an “autofocus spring”, an “AF elasticmember”, or the like. In addition, the lateral support member 800 may bereferred to as a “support member”, a “hand-tremor compensation spring”or an “OIS elastic member”.

The upper elastic member 1600 may be coupled to the housing 1310 and thebobbin 1210.

The upper elastic member 1600 may be coupled to the upper portion of thehousing 1310 and the upper portion of the bobbin 1210. The inner frame1620 of the upper elastic member 1600 may be coupled to the uppercoupling portion 1213 of the bobbin 1210, and the outer frame 1610 ofthe upper elastic member 1600 may be coupled to the upper couplingportion 1313 of the housing 1310.

The upper elastic member 1600 may include the outer frame 1610, theinner frame 1620, and the frame connection portion 1630. The upperelastic member 1600 may include the outer frame 1610 coupled to thehousing 1310. The upper support member 1600 may include the inner frame1620 coupled to the bobbin 1210. The upper elastic member 1600 mayinclude the frame connection portion 1630 connecting the outer frame1610 and the inner frame 1620 to each other.

For example, the inner frame 1620 may be referred to as an “innerframe”, the outer frame 1610 may be referred to as an “outer frame”, andthe frame connection portion 1630 may be referred to as a “frameconnection portion”.

The upper elastic member 1600 may include a first support unit and asecond support unit. Here, the first support unit may be coupled to boththe housing 1310 and the bobbin 1210, and the second support unit maynot be coupled to the bobbin 1210, but may be coupled only to thehousing 1310. That is, the first support unit may include, for example,the first outer portion 1611, the first inner portion 1621, and thefirst connection portion 1631. In addition, the second support unit mayinclude the second outer portion 1612.

The outer frame 1610 may include the first outer portion 1611 and thesecond outer portion 1612, which are spaced apart from each other. Theouter frame 1610 may further include the third outer portion 1613, whichis spaced apart from the first and second outer portions 1611 and 1612,and the fourth outer portion 1614, which is spaced apart from the firstto third outer portions 1613. The outer frame 1610 may include the firstto fourth outer portions 1611, 1612, 1613 and 614, which are spacedapart from each other.

That is, the outer frame 1610 may be formed in a structure that isdivided into a total of four parts. Here, the first and third outerportions 1611 and 1613 may be used as conductive lines for the AF coilunit 1220, and the second and fourth outer portions 1612 and 1614 may beused as conductive lines for the sensing coil unit 1910. Two outerportions among the first to fourth outer portions 1611, 1612, 1613 and1614 may be electrically connected to the sensing coil unit 1910, andthe remaining two outer portions may be electrically connected to the AFcoil unit 1220. The first and third outer portions 1611 and 1613 may bein electrical conduction with the AF coil unit 1220. The second andfourth outer portions 1612 and 1614 may be in electrical conduction withthe sensing coil unit 1910.

The first to fourth outer portions 1611, 1612, 1613 and 1614 may belocated at corner portions of the housing 1310. The first to fourthouter portions 1611, 1612, 1613 and 1614 may extend along the sidesurface from the corner portions of the housing 1310.

The first outer portion 1611 may be connected to the inner frame 620through the frame connection portion 1630. The first outer portion 1611may be connected to the first inner portion 1621 through the first andsecond connection portions 1631 and 1632. Here, the first inner portion1621 may be in electrical conduction with the AF coil unit 1220, and thefirst outer portion 1611 connected to the first inner portion 1621 maybe in electrical conduction with the AF coil unit 1220.

The first outer portion 1611 may include a first outer coupling portion6111 coupled to the first side surface portion 1301. The first outerportion 1611 may include a second outer coupling portion 6112 coupled tothe second side surface portion 1302. The first outer portion 1611 mayinclude a third outer coupling portion 6113 coupled to the third sidesurface portion 1303.

The second outer portion 1612 may be spaced apart from the frameconnection portion 1630. The second outer portion 1612 may be spacedapart from the inner frame 1620. The second outer portion 1612 may bespaced apart from the frame connection portion 1630 and the inner frame1620. The second outer portion 1612 may not be electrically connected tothe frame connection portion 1630 and the inner frame 1620. The secondouter portion 1612 may be insulated with respect to the frame connectionportion 1630 and the inner frame 1620. Here, the second outer portion1612 may be in electrical conduction with the sensing coil unit 1910.

The third outer portion 1613 may be connected to the inner frame 1620through the frame connection portion 1630. The third outer portion 1613may be connected to the second inner portion 1622 through the third andfourth connection portions 1633 and 1634. Here, the second inner portion1622 may be in electrical conduction with the AF coil unit 1220 and thethird outer portion 1613 connected to the second inner portion 1622 maybe in electrical conduction with the AF coil unit 1220.

The fourth outer portion 1614 may be spaced apart from the frameconnection portion 1630. The fourth outer portion 1614 may be spacedapart from the inner frame 1620. The fourth outer portion 1614 may bespaced apart from the frame connection portion 1630 and the inner frame1620. The fourth outer portion 1614 may not be electrically connected tothe frame connection portion 1630 and the inner frame 1620. The fourthouter portion 1614 may be insulated with respect to the frame connectionportion 1630 and the inner frame 1620. Here, the fourth outer portion1614 may be in electrical conduction with the sensing coil unit 1910.

The inner frame 1620 may include the first inner portion 1621 and thesecond inner portion 1622, which are spaced apart from each other. Theinner frame 1620 may be formed in a structure that is divided into atotal of two parts. Here, the inner frame 1620, which is divided intotwo parts, may be used to supply a voltage to the AF coil unit 1220.That is, the first inner portion 1621 may be electrically connected tothe AF coil unit 1220. The second inner portion 1622 may be electricallyconnected to the AF coil unit 1220. In other words, the first innerportion 1621 may be coupled to any one of a pair of lead wires 1221 ofthe AF coil unit 1220. The second inner portion 1622 may be coupled tothe other one of the pair of lead wires 1221 of the AF coil unit 1220.

The inner frame 1620 may include the first inner coupling portion 6211coupled to the first side portion 1201. The inner frame 1620 may includethe second inner coupling portion 6212 coupled to the second sideportion 1202. The inner frame 1620 may include the third inner couplingportion 6213 coupled to the third side portion 1203.

The inner frame 1620 may include the dummy portion 1625 connecting thefirst inner coupling portion 6211 and the second inner coupling portion6212 to each other. The inner frame 1620 may include the dummy portion1625 connecting the second inner coupling portion 6212 and the thirdinner coupling portion 6212 to each other. The dummy portion 1625 mayconnect the first inner coupling portion 6211 and the second innercoupling portion 6212 to each other. The dummy portion 1625 may connectthe second inner coupling portion 6212 and the third inner couplingportion 6212 to each other. Here, the dummy portion 1625, which connectsthe first inner coupling portion 6211 and the second inner couplingportion 6212 to each other, may be referred to as a “first dummyportion”, and the dummy portion 1625, which connects the second innercoupling portion 6212 and the third inner coupling portion 6212 to eachother, may be referred to as a “second dummy portion”. The dummy portion1625 may have elasticity. In this case, the dummy portion 1625 may bereferred to as a “dummy spring”.

In the embodiment, the inner frame 1620 may be formed in a structurethat is divided into a total of two parts by a dummy spring.

In the embodiment, by coupling the first to third inner couplingportions 6211, 6212 and 6213 through the dummy portion 1625, thecapability of handling of the upper support member 1600 may be improvedand deformation thereof may be inhibited. In addition, the flatness ofassembly of the bobbin 1210 may be improved to thus inhibit a tiltdefect and a defective stroke during autofocus driving.

In this embodiment, by connecting two driving springs (the first andsecond connection portions 1631 and 1632) to each other using the dummyspring and positioning fixed fusion welding points at a remote distanceon the dummy spring, the durability of the spring may be improved andthe occurrence of tilting may be inhibited.

The frame connection portion 1630 may include the first to fourthconnection portions 1631, 1632, 1633 and 1634, which are spaced apartfrom each other.

The first connection portion 1631 may directly interconnect the firstouter coupling portion 6111 of the first outer portion 1611 and thesecond inner coupling portion 6212, and the second connection portion1632 may directly interconnect the second outer coupling portion 6112 ofthe second outer coupling portion 6112 and the third inner couplingportion 6213.

The third connection portion 1633 may directly interconnect the outercoupling portion of the third outer portion 1613 and the inner couplingportion of the inner frame corresponding thereto, and the fourthconnection portion 1634 may directly interconnect the outer couplingportion of the fourth outer portion 1614 and the inner coupling portionof the inner frame corresponding thereto. The third connection portion1633 and the fourth connection portion 1634 may include the third outerportion 1613 and the second inner portion 1622.

The lower elastic member 1700 may be coupled to the lower portion of thebobbin 1210 and the lower portion of the housing 1310. The lower elasticmember 1700 may include the outer frame 1710, the inner frame 1720, anda frame connection portion 1730. The lower elastic member 1700 mayinclude the outer frame 1710 coupled to the housing 1310, the innerframe 1720 coupled to the bobbin 1210, and the frame connection portion1730 elastically interconnecting the outer frame 1710 and the innerframe 1720. For example, the inner frame 1720 may be referred to as an“inner frame”, the outer frame 1710 may be referred to as an “outerframe”, and the frame connection portion 1730 may be referred to as a“frame connection portion”.

The lower elastic member 1700 may be integrally formed as an example.However, the disclosure is not limited thereto. In a modification, thelower elastic member 1700 may be divided into a pair members and may beused to supply a voltage to the AF coil unit 1220, for example.

The lateral support member 1800 may be coupled to the upper supportmember 1600 and the substrate 1410. The lateral support member 1800 maybe in electrical conduction with the upper support member 1600 and thesubstrate 1410. The lateral support member 1800 may elastically supportthe housing 1310 with respect to the base 1500. The lateral supportmember 1800 may be coupled at one side thereof to the stator 1400 and/orthe base 1500 and at the other side thereof to the upper support member1600 and/or the housing 1310. The lateral support member 1800 may becoupled to the stator 1400 and the upper support member 1600. Thelateral support member 1800 may be coupled at one side thereof to thestator 1400 and at the other side thereof to the upper support member1600. With this structure, the lateral support member 1800 mayelastically support the second mover 1300 with respect to the stator1400 so that the second mover 1300 may be moved or tilted in thehorizontal direction. The lateral support member 1800 may include aplurality of wires as an example. Alternatively, the lateral supportmember 1800 may include a plurality of leaf springs as a modification.On the other hand, the lateral support member 1800 may be integrallyformed with the upper elastic member 1600.

The lateral support member 1800 may include first to fourth supportportions 1810, 1820, 1830 and 1840. The lateral support member 1800 mayinclude the first support portion 1810 coupled to the first outerportion 1611. The lateral support member 1800 may include the secondsupport portion 1820 coupled to the second outer portion 1612. Thelateral support member 1800 may include the third support portion 1830coupled to the third outer portion 1613. The lateral support member 1800may include the fourth support portion 1840 coupled to the fourth outerportion 1614. The first to fourth support portions 1810, 1820, 1830 and1840 may be spaced apart from each other.

The lateral support member 1800 or the upper elastic member 1600 mayinclude a shock absorbing portion (not illustrated) for absorbingshocks. The shock absorbing portion may be provided on at least one ofthe lateral support member 1800 and the upper elastic member 1600. Theshock absorbing portion may be a separate member such as a damper.Alternatively, the shock absorbing portion may be realized by changingthe shape of a portion of any one of the lateral support member 1800 andthe upper elastic member 1600.

The sensor unit may be provided for at least one of autofocus feedbackand hand-tremor compensation feedback. The sensor unit may sense theposition or movement of any one of the first mover 1200 and the secondmover 1300.

The sensor unit may include an AF sensor unit and an OIS sensor unit1920 as an example. The AF sensor unit may sense vertical movement ofthe bobbin 1210 relative to the housing 1310 to provide information forAF feedback. The OIS sensor unit 1920 may provide information for OISfeedback by sensing the horizontal movement or tilting of the secondmover 1300.

The AF sensor unit may include the sensing coil unit 1910, ahigh-frequency current application unit (not illustrated), and a voltagesensing unit (not illustrated).

The sensing coil unit 1910 may be located on the housing 1310. Thesensing coil unit 1910 may be located around the upper portion of thehousing 1310. The sensing coil unit 1910 may be located along the upperend of the housing 1310. The sensing coil unit 1910 may be, for example,in the form of a closed curve, without limitation thereto. The sensingcoil unit 1910 may be spaced apart from the AF coil unit 1220. With thisstructure, when a voltage is applied to the AF coil unit 1220, aninductive voltage may be generated in the sensing coil unit 1910. Thevoltage may be induced in the sensing coil unit 1910 according to thedistance between the sensing coil unit 1910 and the AF coil unit 1220.That is, the voltage induced in the sensing coil unit 1910 may varyaccording to the distance between the sensing coil unit 1910 and the AFcoil unit 1220. In the present embodiment, the movement and/or theposition of the bobbin 1210 may be detected by measuring the voltageinduced in the sensing coil unit 1910 using the characteristic describedabove. The movement and/or the position of the bobbin 1210 detected inthis way may be used for an autofocus feedback function.

The sensing coil unit 1910 may be in electrical conduction with thesecond outer portion 1612 and the fourth outer portion 1614. In thiscase, the sensing coil unit 1910 and the substrate 1410 may be inelectrical conduction with each other through the second support portion1820 coupled to the second outer portion 1612 and the fourth supportportion 1840 coupled to the fourth outer portion 1614. With thisstructure, the inductive voltage, which is induced in the sensing coilunit 1910 by high-frequency current supplied to the AF coil unit 1220,may be measured. In addition, the induced current, induced in thesensing coil unit 1910 by the high-frequency current supplied to the AFcoil unit 1220, may be transferred to the terminal portion 1412 of thesubstrate 1410 through the second outer portion 1612 and the secondsupport portion 1820. Alternatively, the induction current induced inthe sensing coil unit 1910 by the high-frequency current supplied to theAF coil unit 1220 may be transferred to the terminal portion 1412 of thesubstrate 1410 through the fourth outer portion 1614 and the fourthsupport portion 1840.

A lead wire 1911 of the sensing coil unit 1910 may be coupled to theouter frame 1610 using the solder element 1912, as illustrated in FIG.18 . However, the coupling between the sensing coil unit 1910 and theouter frame 1610 is not limited to soldering, and any type of couplingfor fixing both of them may be applied.

A high-frequency current applying unit may apply high-frequency currentto the AF coil unit 1220. That is, the high-frequency current applyingunit may apply high-frequency current such as an impulse current to theAF coil unit 1220. Here, the high-frequency current applied to the AFcoil unit 1220 may induce a voltage in the sensing coil unit 1910without affecting the movement of the bobbin 1210. That is, thehigh-frequency current applying unit may generate the inductive voltagein the sensing coil unit 1910 without affecting the autofocus driving ofthe bobbin 1210 by applying high-frequency current to the AF coil unit1220. The high-frequency current applying unit may supply high-frequencycurrent to the AF coil unit 1220 according to a predetermined timeinterval.

A voltage sensing unit may sense the voltage induced in the sensing coilunit 1910. That is, the voltage sensing unit may sense the voltageinduced in the sensing coil unit 1910, and the sensed value may be sentto a controller so that the controller may determine the position of thebobbin 1210.

Hereinafter, the operation of the camera module according to the presentembodiment will be described.

First, the autofocus function of the camera module according to thepresent embodiment will be described. The AF coil unit 1220 is movedrelative to the drive magnet unit 1320 by electromagnetic interactionbetween the AF coil unit 1220 and the drive magnet unit 1320 when avoltage is supplied to the AF coil unit 1220. Here, the bobbin 1210coupled to the AF coil unit 1220 moves integrally with the AF coil unit1220. That is, the bobbin 1210 having the lens module coupled thereinmoves up and down with respect to the housing 1310. This movement of thebobbin 1210 causes the lens module to be moved closer to the imagesensor or to be moved away from the image sensor, whereby focusadjustment for a subject is performed.

On the other hand, autofocus feedback may be applied for more preciserealization of the autofocus function of the camera module according tothe present embodiment. A voltage is induced in the sensing coil unit1910 mounted on the housing 1310 by the high-frequency current appliedto the AF coil unit 1220. On the other hand, when the bobbin 1210 movesrelative to the housing 1310 by drive current applied to the AF coilunit 1220, the value of the voltage induced in the sensing coil unit1910 may change. Here, the supply of the high-frequency current to theAF coil unit 1220 may be performed at a predetermined time interval. Onthe other hand, the voltage sensing unit senses the value of the voltageinduced in the sensing coil unit 1910 and transmits the value to thecontroller. The controller determines whether or not to perform anadditional movement of the bobbin 1210 based on the received voltagevalue. Since such a process is performed in real time, the autofocusfunction of the camera module according to the present embodiment may beperformed more precisely through autofocus feedback.

The hand-tremor compensation function of the camera module according tothe present embodiment will be described. When a voltage is supplied tothe OIS coil unit 1420, the drive magnet unit 1320 moves relative to theOIS coil unit 1420 by electromagnetic interaction between the OIS coilunit 1420 and the drive magnet unit 1320. Here, the housing 1310 coupledto the drive magnet unit 1320 moves integrally with the drive magnetunit 1320. That is, the housing 1310 moves in the horizontal directionrelative to the base 1500. Meanwhile, the tilting of the housing 1310relative to the base 1500 may be induced. This movement of the housing1310 results in movement of the lens module relative to the image sensorin a direction parallel to the direction in which the image sensor isplaced (the direction orthogonal to the optical axis of the lensmodule), so that the hand-tremor compensation function is performed.

On the other hand, hand-tremor compensation feedback may be applied formore accurate realization of the hand-tremor compensation function ofthe camera module according to the present embodiment. The OIS sensor1920 mounted on the base 1500 senses the magnetic field of the drivemagnet unit 1320 fixed to the housing 1310. On the other hand, when thehousing 1310 moves relative to the base 1500, the amount of the magneticfield sensed by the OIS sensor 1920 changes. Meanwhile, the pair of OISsensors 1920 senses the amount of movement or the position in thehorizontal direction (the x-axis and y-axis directions) of the housing1310 in the manner mentioned above, and transmits the sensed value tothe controller. The controller determines whether or not to performadditional movement of the housing 1310 through the received sensingvalue. Since the above-described process is performed in real time, thehand-tremor compensation function of the camera module according to thepresent embodiment may be performed more precisely through hand-tremorcompensation feedback.

FIG. 21 is an exploded perspective view of a camera module 200 accordingto an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 21 , the camera module includes a lens barrel 400, alens driving device 100, an adhesive member 710, a filter 610, a firstholder 600, a second holder 800, an image sensor 810, a motion sensor820, a controller 830, and a connector 840. The lens driving device 100illustrated in FIG. 21 may be the lens driving device illustrated inFIG. 14 .

The lens barrel 400 may be mounted in the bobbin 110 of the lens drivingdevice according to the embodiment.

The first holder 600 may be disposed under the base 210 of the lensdriving device according to the embodiment. The filter 610 may bemounted on the first holder 600, and the first holder 600 may include aprotrusion 500 on which the filter 610 is seated.

The adhesive member 710 may couple or attach the base 210 or 1500 of thelens driving device to the first holder 600. The adhesive member 710 mayalso serve to inhibit a foreign substance from being introduced into thelens driving device in addition to the adhesive role described above.

For example, the adhesive member 710 may be an epoxy, a thermosettingadhesive, an ultraviolet curable adhesive, or the like.

The filter 610 may serve to block the light within a specific frequencyband of the light that passes through the lens barrel 400 from beingincident on the image sensor 810. The filter 610 may be aninfrared-light blocking filter, without limitation thereto. Here, thefilter 610 may be disposed parallel to the x-y plane.

A hollow region may be formed in a portion of the first holder 600 onwhich the filter 610 is mounted so that the light, which has passedthrough the filter 610, may be incident on the image sensor 810.

The second holder 800 may be disposed under the first holder 600, andthe image sensor 810 may be mounted on the second holder 600. The imagesensor 810 is an element on which the light, which has passed throughthe filter 610, is incident so that an image including the light isformed.

The second holder 800 may include, for example, various circuits,elements, and a controller for converting the image formed on the imagesensor 810 into an electric signal and transmitting the electric signalto an external device.

The second holder 800 may be implemented as a circuit board on which theimage sensor may be mounted and a circuit pattern may be formed and towhich various elements are coupled.

The image sensor 810 may receive the image included in the lightincident through the lens driving device according to the embodiment,and may convert the received image into an electric signal.

The filter 610 and the image sensor 810 may be spaced apart from eachother so as to face each other in the first direction.

The motion sensor 820 may be mounted on the second holder 800, and maybe electrically connected to the controller 830 through the circuitpattern provided on the second holder 800.

The motion sensor 820 outputs rotational angular velocity informationbased on the motion of the camera module 200. The motion sensor 820 maybe implemented as a two-axis or three-axis gyro sensor, or an angularvelocity sensor.

The controller 820 may be mounted on the second holder 800, and may beelectrically connected to the second position sensor 240 or the OISsensor unit 1920 and the second coil 230 or the OIS coil unit 1420 ofthe lens driving device. For example, the second holder 800 may beelectrically connected to the circuit board 250 or 1410 of the lensdriving device, and the controller 820 mounted on the second holder 800may be electrically connected to the second position sensor 240 or theOIS sensor unit 1920 and the second coil 230 or the OIS coil unit 1420through the circuit board 250 or 1410.

The controller 830 may output a driving signal capable of performinghand-tremor compensation to the OIS movable unit of the lens drivingdevice based on output signals provided from the second position sensor240 or the OIS sensor unit 1920 of the lens driving device.

The connector 840 may be electrically connected to the second holder800, and may include a port for electrical connection to the externaldevice.

In addition, the lens driving device 100 according to the embodiment mayinclude an optical instrument for the purpose of forming an image of anobject in a space using reflection, refraction, absorption,interference, or diffraction, which are characteristics of light toincrease visibility, for the purpose of recording and reproduction of animage by a lens, or for the purpose of optical measurement or imagepropagation or transmission, or the like. For example, the opticalinstrument according to the embodiment may be applied to a mobile phone,a cellular phone, a smart phone, a portable smart device, a digitalcamera, a laptop computer, a digital broadcasting terminal, a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a navigation system, or the like, but is notlimited thereto, and any device for capturing images or photographs ispossible.

FIG. 22 illustrates a perspective view of a portable terminal 200Aaccording to an embodiment, and FIG. 23 illustrates a configuration ofthe portable terminal illustrated in FIG. 22 .

Referring to FIGS. 22 and 23 , the portable terminal 200A (hereinafterreferred to as a “terminal”) may include a body 850, a wirelesscommunication unit 710, an A/V input unit 720, a sensing unit 740, aninput/output unit 750, a memory unit 760, an interface unit 770, acontroller 780, and a power supply unit 790.

The body 850 illustrated in FIG. 22 has a bar shape, without limitationthereto. The body 850 may be any of various types such as a slide type,a folder type, a swing type, or a swivel type in which two or moresub-bodies are coupled so as to be movable relative to each other.

The body 850 may include a case (e.g., a casing, a housing or a cover),which forms the external appearance of the body. For example, the body850 may be divided into a front case 851 and a rear case 852. Variouselectronic components of the terminal may be embedded in the spaceformed between the front case 851 and the rear case 852.

The wireless communication unit 710 may include one or more modules thatenable wireless communication between the terminal 200A and a wirelesscommunication system or between the terminal 200A and the network inwhich the terminal 200A is located. For example, the wirelesscommunication unit 710 may include a broadcast receiving module 711, amobile communication module 712, a wireless Internet module 713, a nearfield communication module 714, and a location information module 715.

The audio/video (A/V) input unit 720 may serve to input an audio signalor a video signal, and may include a camera 721 and a microphone 722,for example.

The camera 721 may be the camera 200 illustrated in FIG. 21 includingthe lens driving device according to the embodiment.

The sensing unit 740 may sense the current state of the terminal 200Asuch as the opened/closed state of the terminal 200A, the position ofthe terminal 200A, the presence or absence of a user touch, theorientation of the terminal 200A, or the acceleration/deceleration ofthe terminal 200A, and may generate a sensing signal for controlling theoperation of the terminal 200A. For example, when the terminal 200Atakes the form of a slide phone, the sensing unit may sense whether theslide phone is opened or closed. In addition, the sensing unit functionsto sense whether or not the power supply unit 790 supplies a voltage orwhether or not the interface unit 770 is connected to an externaldevice, for example.

The input/output unit 750 serves to generate an input or an outputrelated to visual, auditory, tactile, or the like. The input/output unit750 may generate input data for controlling the operation of theterminal 200A and may also display information processed by the terminal200A.

The input/output unit 750 may include a keypad unit 730, a displaymodule 751, a sound output module 752, and a touchscreen panel 753. Thekeypad unit 730 may generate input data based on input to a keypad.

The display module 751 may include a plurality of pixels, the color ofwhich changes according to an electric signal. For example, the displaymodule 751 may include at least one of a liquid crystal display, a thinfilm transistor-liquid crystal display, an organic light-emitting diode,a flexible display, or a 3-dimensional (3D) display.

The sound output module 752 may output audio data received from thewireless communication unit 710 in a call signal reception mode, a callmode, a recording mode, a voice recognition mode, a broadcast receptionmode, or the like, or may output audio data stored in the memory unit760.

The touch screen panel 753 may convert a change in capacitance caused bya user touch on a specific area of the touchscreen into an electricinput signal.

The memory unit 760 may store a program for processing and controllingthe controller 780 and may temporarily store input/output data (e.g., atelephone directory, a message, audio, a still image, a photograph, or amoving image). For example, the memory unit 760 may store an imagephotographed by the camera 721, for example, a photograph or a movingimage.

The interface unit 770 serves as a path for connection to an externaldevice connected to the terminal 200A. The interface unit 770 receivesdata from an external device, receives a voltage to transmit the voltageto each element in the terminal 200A, or allows data in the terminal200A to be transmitted to an external device. For example, the interfaceunit 770 may include a wired/wireless headset port, an external chargerport, a wired/wireless data port, a memory card port, a port forconnecting a device equipped with an identification module, an audioinput/output (I/O) port, a video input/output (I/O) port, and anearphone port.

The controller 780 may control the overall operation of the terminal200A. For example, the controller 780 may perform a related controloperation and process for a voice call, data communication, a videocall, and the like.

The controller 780 may include a multimedia module 781 for multimediaplayback. The multimedia module 781 may be implemented in the controller180, or may be implemented separately from the controller 780.

The controller 780 may perform a pattern recognition process forrecognizing a handwriting input or drawing input performed on thetouchscreen as characters and images, respectively.

The power supply unit 790 may supply external power or internal poweraccording to the control of the controller 780 and may supply a voltagerequired for the operation of the respective elements.

The above described features, configurations, effects, and the like areincluded in at least one of the embodiments of the present invention,and should not be limited to only one embodiment. In addition, thefeatures, configurations, effects, and the like as illustrated in eachembodiment may be implemented with regard to other embodiments as theyare combined with one another or modified by those skilled in the art.Thus, content related to these combinations and modifications should beconstrued as including in the scope and spirit of the invention asdisclosed in the accompanying claims.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

Embodiments may be used in a lens driving device, which is capable ofsecuring a sufficient distance between a sensing coil and a first coiland overcoming a spatial limitation pertaining to installation of anupper elastic member in a housing, and a camera module and an opticalapparatus including the same.

What is claimed is:
 1. A lens driving device comprising: a housinghaving a first side portion, a second side portion, and a first cornerportion between the first side portion and the second side portion; abobbin disposed in the housing; a first coil disposed on the bobbin; amagnet disposed on the housing; an upper elastic member coupled to thebobbin and the housing; and a support member coupled to the upperelastic member and configured to support the housing; wherein thehousing comprises a first protruding portion disposed on an uppersurface of the first side portion and a second protruding portiondisposed on an upper surface of the second side portion, wherein theupper elastic member comprises a first coupling portion coupled to thehousing, a second coupling portion coupled to the support member, and aconnection portion connecting the first coupling portion and the secondcoupling portion, wherein the first coupling portion comprises a firstportion disposed between the first protruding portion of the housing andthe second coupling portion and a second portion disposed between thesecond protruding portion of the housing and the second couplingportion.
 2. The lens driving device according to claim 1, wherein anupper surface of the first coupling portion is positioned lower thanupper surfaces of the first and second protruding portions.
 3. The lensdriving device according to claim 1, wherein the housing comprises: afirst support protrusion disposed on the first side portion and coupledto the first coupling portion; and a second support protrusion disposedon the second side portion and coupled to the first coupling portion. 4.The lens driving device according to claim 3, wherein the support memberis positioned closer to the first support protrusion than to the firstprotruding portion and is positioned closer to the second supportprotrusion than to the second protruding portion.
 5. The lens drivingdevice according to claim 1, wherein the upper elastic member comprisesan inner frame coupled to the bobbin and a frame connection portionconnecting the inner frame and the first coupling portion.
 6. The lensdriving device according to claim 1, wherein the first coil iselectrically connected to the upper elastic member.
 7. The lens drivingdevice according to claim 1, wherein the support member is a suspensionwire.
 8. The lens driving device according to claim 1, wherein thesupport member is disposed at the first corner portion of the housing.9. The lens driving device according to claim 1, wherein the housingcomprises a third side portion opposite to the first side portion, afourth side portion opposite to the second side portion, a second cornerportion between the second side portion and the third side portion, athird corner portion between the third side portion and the fourth sideportion, and a fourth corner portion between the fourth side portion andthe first side portion.
 10. The lens driving device according to claim9, wherein the support member comprises a first suspension wire disposedat the first corner portion, a second suspension wire disposed at thesecond corner portion, a third suspension wire disposed at the thirdcorner portion, and a fourth suspension wire disposed at the fourthcorner portion.
 11. The lens driving device according to claim 1,wherein the magnet comprises a first magnet disposed on the first sideportion, a second magnet disposed on the second side portion, a thirdmagnet disposed on the third side portion, and a fourth magnet disposedon the fourth side portion.
 12. The lens driving device according toclaim 1, comprising a circuit member disposed on the base and comprisinga second coil opposite to the magnet.
 13. The lens driving deviceaccording to claim 12, comprising a base disposed below the circuitmember.
 14. The lens driving device according to claim 13, comprising afirst sensor and a second sensor disposed on the base and configured todetect a displacement of the housing.
 15. The lens driving deviceaccording to claim 14, wherein the base comprises a first seating grooveand a second seating groove, and the first sensor is disposed in thefirst groove and the second sensor is disposed in the second groove. 16.The lens driving device according to claim 12, wherein the bobbin isconfigured to be moved by an interaction between the magnet and thefirst coil, and the housing is configured to be moved by an interactionbetween the magnet and the second coil.
 17. The lens driving deviceaccording to claim 3, wherein the first coupling portion comprises afirst through hole coupled to the first support protrusion and a secondthrough hole coupled to the second support protrusion.
 18. A lensdriving device comprising: a housing; a bobbin disposed in the housing;a first coil disposed on the bobbin; a magnet disposed on the housing;an upper elastic member coupled to the bobbin and the housing; and asupport member coupled to the upper elastic member and configured tosupport the housing; wherein the housing comprises a first side portion,a second side portion, a first corner portion between the first sideportion and the second side portion, a first protruding portion disposedon an upper surface of the first side portion and a second protrudingportion disposed on an upper surface of the second side portion, whereinthe upper elastic member comprises a first coupling portion coupled tothe housing, a second coupling portion coupled to the support member,and a connection portion connecting the first coupling portion and thesecond coupling portion, wherein the first coupling portion comprises afirst through hole coupled to the housing and positioned between thesecond coupling portion and the first protruding portion of the housing.19. The lens driving device according to claim 18, wherein the firstcoupling portion comprises a second through hole coupled to the housingand positioned between the second coupling portion and the secondprotruding portion of the housing.
 20. A lens driving device comprising:a housing; a bobbin disposed in the housing; a first coil disposed onthe bobbin; a magnet disposed on the housing; an upper elastic membercoupled to the bobbin and the housing; a circuit board disposed belowthe housing; and a support member disposed electrically connecting theupper elastic member and the circuit board.